La 9e Vie de Louis Drax

The 9th Life of Louis Drax is a powerful movie that brought me flashes of Room because we have such a strong child main character and reminiscent of Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls at times. It is so beautiful in a subtle dark way that you don't really fully grasp until the end.

I struggled a bit with the pace because even Louis' voice got tiresome every now and then, but the dreamy atmosphere saturated with a constant sense of suspense and mystery where you just had to know more about this kid and what happened to him kept me hooked.

Louis is such a smart, perceptive, special kid, with his own voice and sense of self. You can't help but let him grow on you.

There were some things I did not appreciate, such as the insta-love, but in the end even that made sense, and the twist caught me off guard, although I chided myself for not having thought of it, but the movie is that well done. Looking back you see it makes perfect sense but while watching it just doesn't come to mind.

The 9th Life of Louis Drax is most definitely a unique movie that I highly recommend.

A movie that was released in theaters this weekend. You never heard of it? Hell, I see like four movies a week at the theater nowadays and hadn't heard a peep about it. This is kind of why I went to see it. It's an odd duck that's actually fairly original and has an intriguing mystery at its center. All in all, though, it's not very good. It has some howlingly bad dialogue and some laughable twists. Its biggest problem, though, is that the central character is the least likable movie kid since the one from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. And at least that kid had autism as an excuse. This kid (Aiden Longworth) has Little Prick Syndrome, which can only be cured by a punch to the face. Or a shove off the cliff, which is how the story begins. An "accident prone" kid, this is his ninth big accident in his nine years on Earth. This one leaves him in a coma, having come back from the other side while being prepared for an autopsy. His mother (Sarah Gadon) sits by his side and his father (Aaron Paul), the presumed shover, is on the run. The boy's doctor (Jamie Dornan) forms a close bond with the mother as he tries to figure out what happened, and how to get Louis out of the coma. Oliver Platt plays the kid's psychologist and Barbara Hershey his paternal grandmother. I was never bored, I will say that, but I was also supremely unsatisfied. Gadon and Paul are both good. Dornan is boring. Platt was best-in-show.

This film tells the story of a young boy who falls off a cliff into the sea, and subsequently fall into a coma. His father is missing, and the mother is understandably distraught. A handsome doctor tries to help them all, but things may not appear as they seem.

"The 9th Life of Louis Drax" is full of surprises. It starts off like a children's film, then becomes romance, then fantasy, then mystery. These elements seamlessly mix into a captivating and engaging story that makes me glued to the screen. It makes me feel differently towards each character at different points of the film, which I think of indicative of how cleverly the story is constructed. The ending is a big surprise, and I would not have guessed it at all. I will be telling my friends about this great film. I really enjoyed it.

But very interesting film.

When I saw the poster, I thought it was going to be Sci-Fi or Fantasy. Then I read the synopsis and it seemed like a psychological thriller: Louis Drax is a problem child that gets into a fatal accident that puts him into a coma, and the doctor tending over him gets to the roots of those problems to try to wake him.

At it's basic core, this is what the movie is, a psychological thriller. It also is a mystery as we uncover what happen to put the kid in this coma. What is different, is that the movie is narrated by the kid in the coma. His child like narrative contradicts the adult content.

The voice of Luis Drax starts off the movie, telling his story of a kid prone to accidents since he was a baby. It sets a tone you can't erase as his story and how it revolves around the people around his life becomes very adult.

The tone versus the story is really offsetting at times, but does make for some humorous moments as Louis' mother gets into a relationship with Dr. Pascal, the doctor tending over him. The music layered over the film does not help because it reinforces that children's book fantasy genre that clashes with the crime drama mystery.

Aaron Paul was brilliant in the movie as Luis Drax's loving father, Peter. His tone in the movie also is more centered on the children's book side of the movie.

The only problem with the movie, is that besides the children's fantasy combining the mystery, Thriller, The movie does and has other elements that don't jump out of nowhere necessarily, but don't fit the whole story. Dr. Pascal has a background that's perfect for helping Louis Drax and others find out what happen to him, but using this is too inconsistent and turns it into the Sci-fi movie that I thought it would be looking at the poster, but takes you out of what they are trying to do.

But overall, I liked what is going on with the 9th Life of Louis Drax. The kid who plays Louis Drax tells a great tale of scandal and mystery, from the point of view of a child. it's a compelling story uniquely told.

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'The 9th Life Of Louis Drax (2016)' is the latest film directed by Alexandre Aja, who is most known for his 'The Hills Have Eyes (2006)' remake and the recent Daniel Radcliffe vehicle 'Horns (2013)'. The movie is fairly hard to describe, as it is a mixture of several genres that features a few twists and turns which I don't want to spoil. The basics of the plot revolves around the eponymous Louis Drax, a nine-year-old boy who suffers a near-fatal fall and is left in a coma, and the doctor assigned to his case. I really like it, despite the fact that it is flawed and by no means perfect, so I can't understand its relatively negative critical reception. It's unique, subversive, interesting and emotionally powerful.

The flick does wildly fluctuate in tone throughout its runtime, a flaw which does lend it some unpredictability and therefore can sometimes work to its advantage. One moment it is light and comedic, the next it is dark and gloomy. It's at times a comedy, a quirky indie-film, a family drama, a surrealist fantasy, a mystery 'whodunit', a more traditional horror and a psychological thriller. This amalgamation of genres is intriguing, leaving you never quite sure where the story is going to go. I also mostly appreciate the tonal shifts which, aside from sometimes feeling clumsy and out of place, make for a subversive yet cohesive piece that is much more unique than it may first seem. What doesn't work to the film's advantage, however, is its constant changes in perspective. These are often jarring and feel undisciplined; it is hard to determine who the protagonist is, Louis Drax or Doctor Pascal. The fact that the story flips between their two perspectives is fine, but the execution is fumbling and chaotic at best. The two aren't split equally, so it seems out of place when the swap happens. In the same vein, some of the flick's surreal elements bleed a little too closely into its portrayed reality; it's sometimes unclear what is fantastical and what is real. This is isn't a huge issue and it actually often works to the flick's advantage, but the picture can feel inconsistent in its portrayal and almost 'cheats' the audience at points.

The final act relies on a central conceit that requires quite a big leap in logic, leading to an aftertaste of mild confusion. I understand where the filmmakers were coming from, as a number of little details earlier in the picture attempt to establish it, but it isn't set up properly and becomes a little unbelievable. In the moment it works, though, and I thought it was a nice way of cleaning things up. Still, I wish the filmmakers had planted the seed for it better so that it's easier to get on board with. The actual conclusion feels a little flat in places, too, with some specific revelations not having the impact they should. These plot-lines could've done with an extra moment or two to compound and punctuate them properly. Other than that, the twists and turns generally work well. Some of them are more expected than others, but all of them feel plausible and earned. The film does a good job of making sense to both a first and second time viewer, with scenes showing just enough to perpetuate the 'red herrings' the first time but still remain logical once the whole picture has been revealed. By the time the final act rolls around, I the movie is actually rather gripping; you truly want to know what is going to happen. When the revelations are made, they're mostly satisfying and appropriately surprising - aside from the couple of issues with their consequences not being fully driven home.

The performances are all good, though Jamie Dornan's character can sometimes be quite boring and is played rather generically. Oliver Platt, Sarah Gadon and Aiden Longworth are all notably great, too, and Aaron Paul is downright fantastic in a complex role. A scene towards the end of the flick nearly provokes tears, as it's incredibly emotional and compounded by Paul's perfect performance. It's really affecting, more so than expected, and I cannot give the movie enough praise for tugging at my heartstrings - a rare feat for a film. The writing is mostly decent, though there are some obviously bad lines - both in their construction, repetition and generic nature - as well as the occasional exposition dump and leap in logic. The direction is superb, with a number of unique shots that add to the flick's quirky nature. The feature is framed cleanly, the edits are smooth and the blocking varies healthily. The fantastical elements are typically handled very well, with practical and digital effects being used in tandem, and the pacing is pretty taut - though it feels a little longer than it should on the whole.

Overall, I think 'The 9th Life Of Louis Drax (2016)' is an entertaining and well made film. It's subversive, surprising, engaging, interesting, emotionally powerful, unique and fun. It also has some great performances. It does suffer from occasional tonal and structural issues, narrative leaps in logic and some weak writing, but I still like the feature despite the fact that it's certainly far from perfect: 7/10.