The 9th Life of Louis Drax

'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.

Louis has accidents – not the sort that can be cleaned up with a bit of effort but the sort that end in hospital. He has been having them for a long time. His beautiful mother appears to dote on him and then one day he has a near fatal fall from a cliff top – I mean if he is such a klutz why take him to a cliff edge – c'mon.

Anyway silly parental gaffs aside he is then taken under the wing of hunky, coma paediatrician expert, Dr Alan Pascal (Jamie Dornan) who thinks that it may be possible links that can be maintained through means yet to be understood by medical science. Thus begins a surreal, often warm and often twisted trip into the previous eight lives of the titular Louis Drax.

Now I actually quite enjoyed this it is adapted from the book – but I shall not compare the two. The cast are all above good and the special effects are both great and believable. It is a slow reveal and is the sort of film that you may only wish to see once (so go for a rental) but it is worth going for al the same.

"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 --

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 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.