Film 14/52: The Ninth Gate (1999)

The Ninth Gate is Roman Polanski's adaptation of the novel The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez Reverte. I had read and loved the novel shortly after its release, and have wanted to watch the film for many years, so it was an ideal choice for the 52 Pick-Up series.

Johnny Depp stars as Corso, a rare book dealer who gets caught up in a mystery tracking down a book for a rich collector that can supposedly be used to summon the devil. It's an intriguing puzzle, with many humorous bits along the way (such as the manner in which people handle these incredibly rare and precious tomes), and it gets wilder and wilder as the film progresses. A mysterious woman appears at different times to involve herself in Corso's quest, giving the viewer more to consider about who all is really involved in the mystery. The film veers from the book in a number of ways that don't prevent it from being entertaining on its own, though the ending probably left many viewers wanting (though not this one). 

I had pictured someone older and perhaps not as 'Johnny Depp' in the role of Corso, but he does a fine job. Rounding out the cast are Frank Langella as the eccentric collector who sets Corso on his path, and Emmanuelle Seigner as the mysterious woman he meets along the way. Seeing the film has inspired me to give the book another read. Much like Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind, which I discovered and read years later, it impressed me for surviving the translation so well from its original language (both books were originally published in Spanish). I still prefer the book to the film, as I felt it offered a richer tapestry (an entire Alexandre Dumas/Three Musketeers angle is removed from the film, I assume in order to simplify things), but I do recommend the film to fans of offbeat supernatural mysteries, and of course fans of Johhny Depp.