In Laman's Terms: How Nine Days became an accidental, but poignant, tale about living through the COVID-19 pandemic

In Laman's Terms is a weekly editorial column where Douglas Laman rambles on about certain topics or ideas that have been on his mind lately. Sometimes he's got serious subjects to discuss, other times he's just got some silly stuff to shoot the breeze about. Either way, you know he's gonna talk about something In Laman's Terms!

SPOILERS FOR NINE DAYS AHEAD

Nine Days premiered at the 2020 edition of the Sundance Film Festival. The fact that it was able to premiere exclusively in a theatrical capacity, with the idea of a virtual premiere a laughable notion, is an indicator that it took place in some of the final weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic forever altered the American movie landscape. Like any of us, none of the artists behind Nine Days could’ve predicted what was about to come and how everyone’s lives would be upended.

However, the film feels all the more relevant when viewed through the lens of how COVID-19 has affected everyday life. It’s a testament to how much authentic emotion and human experiences Nine Days channels that it could accomplish a feat it could’ve never imagined. A parable about the virtues of existence that would’ve been emotionally resonant under any circumstances has only garnered extra layers of depth and relevancy.

Nine Days focuses on Will (Winston Duke), a figure who helps figure out which prospective souls go on to actually inhabit planet Earth. Having previously been a living person himself, his only exposure to what’s going on among everyday humans is through videotapes told through the eyes of people growing up. These glimpses into existence have given him a bleak view of humanity as he refers to the very act of living as being akin to going to war.

When Will isn’t watching these videos, he spends his time toiling away in the isolated house that he never leaves. Sometimes he’s making small experiences for souls that don’t get to Earth, other times he’s fixating on the sudden death of a woman named Amanda. Whatever the case, Will keeps his distance from the people around him both physically and emotionally.

Will’s detached nature was never meant to evoke the experiences of living during the COVID-19 pandemic. Writer/director Edson Oda‘a primary intent with these withdrawn qualities of Will was to provide a contrast to characters like Kyo (Benedict Wong) and Emma (Zazie Beetz), who carry more optimistic perspectives on the world of the living.

However, in the process of portraying Will like this, Edo also crafted a perfect stand-in for an average spectator in the COVID-19 pandemic. An isolated human being whose keenly aware of the fragile mortality of other people and whose only way of connecting with “real life” is through what he see’s once screens? How can one not get flashbacks to being stuck in lockdown during the pandemic? Edo’s depiction of Will is as prophetic as it is thoughtful.

Something else Edo perfectly captures in Will’s disposition is the inevitable cynicism about humanity that can emerge during this ongoing health crisis. How can one not look at a crowd of people protesting any measures taken to curb the pandemic or politicians instituting bans on mask and not develop a glib outlook? So many times during this pandemic, it feels like humans haven’t squandered opportunities to rise to the occasion so much as they’ve lit them on fire.

The disparity between this kind of outlook and more glass-half-full visions of humanity are constantly being pitted against one another in Edo’s screenplay. Taking a cue from the sparse dialogue-driven works of Samuel Beckett among others, Edo both challenges and deeply understands the kind of bleak mindset that can emerge in the wake of a tragedy akin to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the most thoughtful demonstrations of these conflicting mindsets clashing comes during a dinner where Kane (Bill Skarsgard) remarks that the most disgusting thing he’s seen in his time viewing humanity is a pedophile who murdered two little girls. He remarks that this is the norm for behavior on Earth, which Emma rebukes with her contrary perception of humanity that’s much more hopeful.

“Why are you focusing on this” Emma inquires to Kane, to which he responds “How’re you not?”

Nine Days understands how bleak perceptions of humanity can manifest, hence why it doesn’t demonize either Kane or Will. It understands how easy and logical it can seem to see only the worst parts of the human race as a condemnation of the entire planet. How can one turn on the news in the pandemic to discover the latest anti-vaccine nonsense and not feel some frustration with the wider world?

But Nine Days also takes the time to show the quiet wonderful things of existence, the sort of details that we all may have taken for granted before the pandemic. These are initially represented solely by Kyo, who lingers on the video screens in Will’s living room that show humorous or romantically touching sights rather than the ones that feature horrific sights. Soon, though, this perception is manifested by Emma, particularly in a closing scene where she reveals to Will that she’s left writing across his house of all the happy memories she’s had in this domicile.

Her notes, sketched on the floor, walls, and fenceposts, don’t refer to anything huge. Small things, like walking barefoot or sharing laughs with Kyo, are what she’s scribbled down and are at the forefront of her memory. These are the kind of throwaway aspects of existence that one grows to appreciate after spending so much time indoors. Who needs to have exorbitant riches, wings, or anything fantastical? After a few months in lockdown, all I wanted was to share a meal with my friends or feel the breeze against my face while walking to a class at my college.

These are the things Will and all of us pre-pandemic either never really appreciated or even outright avoided. After all, appreciating those intimate qualities of other people can put us in places of extreme vulnerability. As Will learns while grappling with the sudden departure of Amanda, that kind of connection can hurt just as much as it fills up the soul. It can be easy for Will, and those us just trying to make it through another day in the pandemic, to decide the right course of action is to remain distant from the world.

But a character like Emma doesn’t just point Will towards the glorious things hiding in plain sight, she also chips away at the pandemic-induced cynicism of the viewer. Connecting with others or appreciating those minute qualities can lead to heartbreak, but they can also lead to unspeakable amounts of joy. The thought of a worldwide pandemic shutting everything down and reorienting everyone’s worldview was never even close to being on the mind of Nine Days and its creators. And yet, thanks to the intimate storytelling approach and the richly human performances, the film itself is a perfect reminder of the joys of everyday life and bonding with other people.