"$9,99" is an animated feature about real people with real problems and perhaps real solutions, yet is a far more interesting portrayal of human perspective of life than live action movies with real actors. It has some strange appearances of talking objects and tiny little persons and a "Angel" but it's a very impressive movie and his proposition couldn't be better for the nowadays audience: What's the purpose of life? If live has a purpose it can be bought or purchased by the price of $9,99?
Dave Peck (Samuel Johnson) is a young and unemployed guy who realizes that his life hasn't a great purpose. He can't work with something he would like to do and occasionally works along with his brother Lenny (Ben Mendelsohn) convicting people who doesn't pay their rent (something he doesn't like to work at) and lives with his old father (Anthony LaPaglia) in a apartment. One day Dave reads a catalog and in it he discovers a book called "The Meaning of Life", and it costs $9,99. He goes forward and buys it. While reading he sees that are things he can use to make his life and everyone's life a positive things (the biggest disappointment here is that we never seen what's in the book but we have a clue: there are six things that everyone really needs, once again no answers).
But it looks like no one wants to hear Dave. His father's still shocked with a strange event where a homeless guy asked him for money to buy a cup of coffee and then after his refuse the homeless shoot himself; his brother get involved in a bizarre love relationship with a famous model (Leeanna Walsman) where he does everything to work the way she wants even she didn't ask for it (such as cut all his hair because she's too sensible to it). Along with these characters there are a little boy who desperately wants a toy but instead his father teaches him a lesson and gives to the boy a piggy bank to save all the money he gets after drink his milk. But the boy end up having more affection for the smiling pig with his savings. There's also the bored old man whose life is a tedious thing until the appearance of an strange and ruthless angel (Geoffrey Rush) that tells him how Heaven is. The last character is a immature young man in love by a girl but don't want to get married with her. He starts to take drugs and have conversations with some tiny little and playful figures.
What's the interesting thing here? This stop-motion animated film is not concerned in show to its audience no kind of answers about the meaning of life but it has a more deeper focus on the things we don't said, or don't heard and why happiness is in the little things. It's about change of perspective and with that you might get some meaning to your life. Examples: Many of the characters are so much enclosed and locked in their own worlds that they don't know the dangers surrounding him. There's suicides and possible murderers risking their lives and other people's lives but something happens and their route is suddenly changed here. Dave despite all the problems he has it's a good and positive character. His sadness comes not only because he can't work by making polls by the phone but also because no one hears what he's got to say. His desperation in to be heard make him buys another book (the same $9,99 price) that can make him be a people that is heard by everyone. The irony (yes it has lots of good humor here) is when that book isn't delivered because the publisher doesn't print that book anymore and he's got his money back and another book about "how to swim like a dolphin". This book reveals to be more powerful than the one he wanted to buy.
I don't think I ever saw a more plausible and non downer film about how changes are important in people's life and that life might have a meaning if you want it to have a meaning. Each person must finds his own truths, sometimes we need help and other times we don't, but certainly we need other people around us because that's what human race is all about: help each other in the best way we can. The film is filled with many thoughts and ideas, it's very easy to follow, in no way is a depressive thing despite it's subject and has more relevant things to say than Disney's and DreamWorks's cartoons. It could be a little bit more longer than it is, it makes you want more when it gets closer to the end. 10/10
Dave Peck (Samuel Johnson) is a young and unemployed guy who realizes that his life hasn't a great purpose. He can't work with something he would like to do and occasionally works along with his brother Lenny (Ben Mendelsohn) convicting people who doesn't pay their rent (something he doesn't like to work at) and lives with his old father (Anthony LaPaglia) in a apartment. One day Dave reads a catalog and in it he discovers a book called "The Meaning of Life", and it costs $9,99. He goes forward and buys it. While reading he sees that are things he can use to make his life and everyone's life a positive things (the biggest disappointment here is that we never seen what's in the book but we have a clue: there are six things that everyone really needs, once again no answers).
But it looks like no one wants to hear Dave. His father's still shocked with a strange event where a homeless guy asked him for money to buy a cup of coffee and then after his refuse the homeless shoot himself; his brother get involved in a bizarre love relationship with a famous model (Leeanna Walsman) where he does everything to work the way she wants even she didn't ask for it (such as cut all his hair because she's too sensible to it). Along with these characters there are a little boy who desperately wants a toy but instead his father teaches him a lesson and gives to the boy a piggy bank to save all the money he gets after drink his milk. But the boy end up having more affection for the smiling pig with his savings. There's also the bored old man whose life is a tedious thing until the appearance of an strange and ruthless angel (Geoffrey Rush) that tells him how Heaven is. The last character is a immature young man in love by a girl but don't want to get married with her. He starts to take drugs and have conversations with some tiny little and playful figures.
What's the interesting thing here? This stop-motion animated film is not concerned in show to its audience no kind of answers about the meaning of life but it has a more deeper focus on the things we don't said, or don't heard and why happiness is in the little things. It's about change of perspective and with that you might get some meaning to your life. Examples: Many of the characters are so much enclosed and locked in their own worlds that they don't know the dangers surrounding him. There's suicides and possible murderers risking their lives and other people's lives but something happens and their route is suddenly changed here. Dave despite all the problems he has it's a good and positive character. His sadness comes not only because he can't work by making polls by the phone but also because no one hears what he's got to say. His desperation in to be heard make him buys another book (the same $9,99 price) that can make him be a people that is heard by everyone. The irony (yes it has lots of good humor here) is when that book isn't delivered because the publisher doesn't print that book anymore and he's got his money back and another book about "how to swim like a dolphin". This book reveals to be more powerful than the one he wanted to buy.
I don't think I ever saw a more plausible and non downer film about how changes are important in people's life and that life might have a meaning if you want it to have a meaning. Each person must finds his own truths, sometimes we need help and other times we don't, but certainly we need other people around us because that's what human race is all about: help each other in the best way we can. The film is filled with many thoughts and ideas, it's very easy to follow, in no way is a depressive thing despite it's subject and has more relevant things to say than Disney's and DreamWorks's cartoons. It could be a little bit more longer than it is, it makes you want more when it gets closer to the end. 10/10