A burlesque dancer must go on the run to save a neighbor’s boy whose life is threatened by her ex-lover.
When Gypsy (Lena Headey), a former burlesque dancer turned author, tries to turn her life around and put her questionable past behind her, her newfound life is short-lived when she receives a phone call from a neighbor asking her to take care of their young son, Sam. Gunshots are heard on the other end of the line, and then it cuts off. Sam (Dean Scott Vazquez), the sole survivor of the shootout, manages to make his way to Gypsy’s house, where she immediately puts him in her truck and heads for the bus station where she plans on sending him to his out-of-state uncle, but when the uncle refuses to take him, and with bad guys in hot pursuit, she must contemplate her next step and determine why they want Sam dead.
The premise for “9 Bullets” is intriguing, but the film’s execution fails to impress. With an all-star cast, including Lena Headey, Sam Worthington, Cam Gigandet, and Barbara Hershey, one would expect an exciting thriller, at least based on the movie’s synopsis, but what we get instead is an asinine, convoluted narrative with forced performances and ludicrous character and story arcs.
Gypsy used to date Jack, the bad guy whose henchmen killed Sam’s family because his father stole money from him to try and better his family’s living situation, so already there is convenient history. Jack wants his money back, and when Gypsy visits him, stating she doesn’t know where the money is and requests he let the boy live, he knows she is lying and that she has his money, but he still allows her to leave with the boy. Then he changes his mind and sends his men after her anyway.
At one point, Gypsy and Sam know they are being followed, so they steal an SUV to throw Jack’s henchmen off but then realize the car’s owner, Tasmin (La La Anthony), is lying asleep in the back seat. They didn’t notice her when they broke into the vehicle, only hours after being on the road. They sweet-talk her into letting them drive the car to Utah, where Gypsy’s old friend, Lacey (Barbara Hershey), is waiting for her. Once there, Gypsy and Tasmin head out to an old graveyard where Gypsy has hidden emergency money, but Jack and his men turn up. In the ensuing chaos, Tasmin escapes and is never seen again, while Gypsy successfully hides in an old tomb until morning and then makes her way back to Lacey to pick up Sam.
After finally driving to Sam’s uncle, she has a change of heart and decides she will keep Sam and they will start a new life with hers and Jack’s stolen money, but then two of his men turn up and shoot her several times, point-blank. She survives long enough to shoot them dead, only for a female assassin to appear out of nowhere, shooting her to the ground. But … she survives. Yes, after being shot five or six times, point-black, she miraculously survives, and in the end, she and Sam head off towards an unknown future, knowing that Jack won’t be far behind.
Jack’s enforcers have to be the worst henchmen ever put to film; if your sole intent is to kill someone, you don’t get up close to your target and start shooting randomly, hoping a stray bullet will reach its intended destination; you shoot them in the head. Simple. Even the female assassin shoots her in the chest region and then walks off, assuming Gypsy is dead, smug as hell.
We learn that Gypsy lost a child many years ago and doesn’t like to be around children as they bring back bad memories for her, so being around Sam is difficult for her throughout the entire film, but that’s precisely the point; writer and director Gigi Gaston plants that seed early on and by the end of the film, Gypsy is supposed to overcome that dilemma and feel enduring love for the kid that has only been in her life for a few days, but it never once feels real. Sam is a precocious but irksome kid who tends to run off when he doesn’t get his way, and their relationship never feels authentic; his acting comes off as forced, and while Headey gives it her all, he is no match against the established film and TV veteran.
“9 Bullets” is occupied by a top-notch cast who do their best to look interested; sadly, writer-director Gigi Gaston appears to have no directorial aptitude, allowing characters and subplots to wander off in their own direction, never to be seen or heard from again, hoping the audience won’t notice. But notice we did.
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