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Review

NINE PERFECT STRANGERS. Don’t play this again, David…

A luxurious retreat turns into a mind-bending experience in Nine Perfect Strangers, but does it succeed in delivering fresh excitement or fall flat? Find out!

Agnieszka Stasiowska

29 January 2025

nine perfect strangers

The Big Little Lies with Nicole Kidman in the lead role sold incredibly well, so why not repeat the path to a success close to the heart? Kelley seems to have forgotten how much viewers value freshness. And he definitely missed the arrival of The White Lotus on screen. The plot of Nine Perfect Strangers is as stereotypical as, no offense, “women’s literature.” 

A carefully selected group of guests arrives at a luxurious retreat with a vague name, Tranquilium, located in complete isolation, to undergo a cleansing ritual. Whether it will be a mental or physical purge is unclear, as the entire event is, of course, shrouded in luxurious secrecy. In the set chosen by the mysterious Masha (Nicole Kidman), we have a frustrated writer of the aforementioned literature (Melissa McCarthy), who has just learned that her publishing house is ending their cooperation with her; an emotionally unstable divorcee obsessed with her ex-husband and his current partner (Regina Hall); a millionaire by chance (Melvin Gregg) and his influencer photo-wife (Samara Weaving); a journalist with relationship problems and a mission to uncover the true nature of Tranquilium (Luke Evans); and a mysterious brute (Bobby Cannavale), along with a completely average family, whose only added value is the fresh trauma of a suicide of their son and brother (Michael Shannon as the father, Asher Keddie as the mother, and Grace Van Patten as the twin sister of the deceased). It’s not hard to guess that the mysterious Masha has her own goal in all of this, and it’s not hard to predict how it will all unfold.

Nine Perfect Strangers

Something didn’t quite work. In theory, it should be exciting and interesting, as usually, throwing a group of diverse people into a closed (though enormous and luxurious) space and forcing them to adapt to new rules, which put many of their habits into question, leads to dramatic catharsis – at least in typical scripts. One only needs to mention how masterfully Polanski used this motif in Carnage. The variety of characters also always ensures that the audience’s attention is maintained, even if the only thing connecting them is the location (and here, huge applause to the aforementioned The White Lotus, which expertly navigates between completely foreign groups of people while emphasizing one main motif, even though not always explicitly). Nine Perfect Strangers failed. Why?

First and foremost, the theme of isolation and detachment from the modern world is nothing new, and it loses its exclusivity. More and more people have access to such an opportunity to varying degrees and are increasingly taking advantage of it, consciously disconnecting from social media or even physically relocating to more remote places. Overstimulation is no longer a novelty but a fact, and trying to react to it is no longer just an entertainment for the chosen ones. Furthermore, the motif of serving guests hallucinogenic mushrooms in cocktails to release their visions and provide them with spiritual experiences is now more laughable than sect-like and spiritual, and it fails to impress anyone, including the characters in Nine Perfect Strangers.

Nine Perfect Strangers

Also, the problems faced by the people gathered in Tranquilium are not new. Various life failures that haunt the famous and rich have been tackled countless times, including many times in the confrontation with a fresh batch of regular people with at best average incomes.

The casting of the enigmatic Masha with the beautiful but immobile Nicole Kidman doesn’t help either. The actress, who has long been relying on minimal facial expressions and a slim, trained body, has based her role here mainly on this. Sparse half-smiles and limp limbs clothed in equally sparse garments have, I feel, become a bit worn out for the audience. The other cast members follow suit with minimal expression, which is acceptable only for young actors like Van Patten and Hall in the role of Carmel. Here, we can count on hysterical screams or offended glares. Gregg virtually disappears in this cast, serving as a backdrop for the actually beautiful but also quite limited acting role of Samara Weaving. Luke Evans is probably in the show only for decoration, and we mention him out of courtesy. In truth, the only characters worth watching are the duo Cannavale–McCarthy, who drive the entire show forward. Not that their characters are particularly interesting (although I believe the character of Frances is the most developed; Moriarty probably drew from personal experiences here), but they are the only ones who put any effort into bringing their roles to life. Their unexpected interaction is what keeps the viewer engaged, and neither the subplot of the tragic death of young Marconi nor the big, yet rather obvious, secret of Masha can surpass this.

Nine Perfect Strangers

Nine Perfect Strangers is visually pleasing. Beautiful women and handsome men flounder around rich, though deceptively simply decorated interiors and in nature at its peak. The light is dreamily diffused, dramatically sharp at times. Yet, one cannot help but feel that the best part of the production is the opening sequence – hypnotic, somewhat drowsy, inviting, yet underlined by a hidden threat. It’s a shame that this atmosphere could not be carried over into the series itself.

Agnieszka Stasiowska

Agnieszka Stasiowska

She seeks different sensations in film, so she doesn't close herself off to any genre. She believes that every film has its own audience, and when it doesn't appeal to her, it is sure to strike a different, more inclined heart.

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