Review of Nine Queens (2000) by Sesh T — 04 Feb 2011

A friend of mine, who was also screening this, called this the quintessential con movie. It stars Ricardo Darin, who was absolutely perfect in 'El secreto de sus ojos', which was another neo-noir masterpiece.

But the same chap never seemed excited when I went on raving about 'The Sting'. So, walking in, I did not go in with an open mind. I did not think this one was gonna rock. Plus, I had seen many movies that came after, that used the template this one laid out ('Matchstick men', for instance).

So, when my friend asked me (during the break) to guess what was going on, I was bang on target (as the finale proved), but that, in no way, detracted from the entire experience, which unfolded as a treat to behold, without the 'royal' flourishes of a Nolan (think 'Prestige', not 'Inception'), but just by being so subtle that you might miss the point (another friend, who loves movies of this genre, actually missed the point - was paying attention to his cell phone during that 1 crucial frame).