While I'll try my best not to include any spoilers, the best way to see Nine Queens is absolutely cold. So stop reading this or any other review, go and see this superb con-man thriller and feel thoroughly satisfied. If you've already seen it, just returned after taking my advice or want to ruin your own pleasure, read on...
Juan and Marcos (Gaston Pauls and Ricardo Darin) are short con operators who meet up and join forces for the day. The confident, seasoned Marcos shows his new companion the tricks of the trade. Juan takes a liking to his untrustworthy tutor but reveals himself to be a deft hand at the scamming business himself. Both find themselves out of their league when a big time fortune opportunity falls in to their lap. Can they lie, improvise and swindle their way into a fortune? Can they trust each other?
While Nine Queens doesn't rely on a big twist for closure, writer/director Fabian Bielinsky instead opts for a 'lets get lost along the way' plot structure that more than makes up for a great denouement. Structure is matched by direction and performances, with Pauls and Darin managing to be believable yet suspicious, frantic yet calm. Their patter, facial expressions and buddy movie chemistry give the impression they are having more fun working things out than they will if they actually make the big score. Bielinsky's camera prowls and dashes around with them like a silent accomplice, but the director is confident enough never to allow his roving frame to outshine the characters he has expertly constructed. Not one to over-egg his visual pudding, he knows the real gold lies in the narrative's dense population. Guy Ritchie will probably have used a whole crayon taking notes.
As for the title, it refers to the nine drag artists who perform a stunning, Busby Berkely-esque title sequence. And if you believe that, then I have a Ming vase that's going for a good price.
Reviewed by Bob Carroll
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