The 9th Life of Louis Drax

I was not expecting to like this film, but it wasn't actually that bad. I was intrigued by the promis of Jamie Dornan and Aaron Paul. Then upon viewing I still can't place where I know Sarah Gadon from, but she was fantastic. Intrigue, Murder and a weird kid makes for an entertaining movie!

The boy Louis Drax (Aiden Longworth) is a survivor along his life, escaping from death for eight times. On his ninth birthday, he goes to a picnic with his beautiful mother Natalie (Sarah Gadon) and his father Peter (Aaron Paul) nearby a cliff. Out of the blue, Louis falls off the cliff and is declared dead by the doctors. However he awakes immediately before the autopsy and stays in coma under the care of Dr. Allan Pascal (Jamie Dornan). Natalie discloses to the police detective Dalton (Molly Parker) that Peter, who is missing, pushed Louis off the cliff and he becomes the prime suspect of the case. Meanwhile Dr. Pascal, who is married, becomes close to Natalie. When weird things happen in the hospital with Louis, Dr. Pascal invites his psychiatrist Dr. Perez (Oliver Platt) to share his knowledge about the behavior of the boy and they disclose secrets about the Drax family.

"The 9th Life of Louis Drax" is a supernatural film directed by Alexandre Aja with a unique storyline. The plot is intriguing and mysterious but the conclusion could be better and better since the twist discloses Natalie's personality too soon with the visit of Peter 's mother to the hospital. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Nona Vida de Louis Drax" ("The 9th Life of Louis Drax")

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.

"The 9th Life Of Louis Drax" starring Jamie Dornan and Sarah Gadon is haunting.. with the most heart-wrenching reveal/twist-ending since "The Sixth Sense." Based on Liz Jensen's novel, adapted by Max Minghell, and directed by Alexandre Aja who gave us various horror films from "The Hills Have Eyes," "Piranha 3D" to "Horns," his latest feat, THE 9TH LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX is not designed to scare you, it's more of a murder whodunit mystery with a side of supernatural elements. The film is completely engrossing, not to mention this lead character, the kid named Louis Drax, excellently played by young talent, Aiden Longworth, is a character that has his perks, he's unlike any other kid, he's blunt. So when Louis Drax falls off a steep cliff on his ninth birthday, the police quickly blames the father (Aaron Paul) who's been missing since the incident. Jamie Dornan plays neurologist, Dr. Allan Pascal who's been trying to help his comatose patients including Louis, to regain consciousness. But there's a certain magnetic character in the room, Louis's mother, Natalie (Sarah Gadon) who carries her own secrets.

This is a film that has a twist ending, and so talking about it without giving too much away is honestly quite challenging. But here's what I'll say about THE 9TH LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX, it brilliantly puts all kinds of theories in your head as to what really happened that fateful day, you wouldn't be able to guess which one is right or who's guilty. Another intriguing part is that all the characters are flawed, not just Louis who considers himself different from the other kids. Great multidimensional characters that draw you further and further into the mystery as it slowly but surely peals its layers before it lets you see the bigger picture, because up until that point, your focus would only be on the kid, Louis. It's quite refreshing to see director Aja take on this gig instead of his usual frightfest. THE 9TH LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX is kinda of like the movie that M. Night Shyamalan never made.

-- Rama's Screen --

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.