The best thing that can be said about the film's theme is that it avoids all of the genre's typical clichés. Having the devil showing up in the middle of Times Square on New Years Eve (or even in Pittsburgh, for that matter) is far too generic and uninventive -- it's one of those setups that people respond to by saying, "If that were in a movie I wouldn't believe it." Director Polanski knows this, and he directs his co-written adaptation of Arturo Pérez-Reverte's novel El Club Dumas through some stylishly crafted sets in the middle of Europe. It's far from the mainstream perception of Satan's landing pad.

      Compliments cannot be given for Polanski's handling of the film's plot, however. The script, which he wrote along with John Brownjohn and Enrique Urbizu, is very obviously an adaptation. It continues almost endlessly, with no thought for dramatic structure or the stress on the viewer's buttocks. Any film that is as much style and as little substance as The Ninth Gate should do well to make sure its running time is under two hours.

      Regardless, though, the movie starts out well, chock full of atmosphere and ambience. The Wojciech Kilar score adds a bit of surrealism to the happenings, on par with the just-beneath-the-surface craziness in Twelve Monkeys. And in the opening an old, white-haired man scrawls a hand written note, seals it in an envelope, and proceeds to hang himself.

      Days later, in New York City, rare books dealer Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) receives a call from legendary and ruthless book collector Boris Balkan (Frank Langella). Balkan has recently procured one of only three surviving copies of a sixteenth-century demonic text which supposedly contains information on how summon the devil. Worried about forgeries, he charges Corso with the task of travelling to Europe and having a look at the other two copies of the text to determine which of the three is authentic.

      Along the way, Corso has chance encounters with a striking blonde-haired woman (Emmanuelle Seigner) whose purpose in the film is never really made clear. She serves as a sort of overbearing conscience for Corso, but Depp adds so much to the character that it's not necessary to give him an awkward plot staple for a sidekick. The girl's continual presence is confusing and does not contribute significantly, but more importantly, it serves as director Polanski's diving board into a torrid romance that could've easily been left out.

      Depp is solid here. He's a veteran actor who hasn't made many mistakes in his career and he's still young enough and obscure enough not to get swallowed up by his own publicity. His portrayal of Corso reeks of seediness -- just the thing for the slightly eccentric individual that mainstream audiences expect a rare books dealer to be. It's quite a shift from his nerdy, insecure Ichabod Crane from 1999's Sleepy Hollow -- here Depp is confident and sure of himself.

      Also good is Frank Langella as the similarly eccentric Boris Balkan. But the rest of the performances -- like the plot of the movie -- run together in the presence of unexciting drama. The Ninth Gate is all about style and atmosphere, making use of the European settings to such a degree that they almost become a character in the movie. The themes of the film are also interesting (not only the investigation of cult worship but also the profession of the rare books dealer), but the glaring error exists in the fact that the film doesn't do anything or go anywhere. It's definitely a specialized sort of thriller, and those who don't find themselves attached to a very European style of direction will be disappointed by The Ninth Gate.

Craig Roush, 2000