Ninth Gate, The

Aroview: An unscrupulous book dealer (Johnny Depp) is sent to Europe by a mysterious tycoon (Frank Langella) to recover an authentic, elusive (and of course, sinister) ancient tomb.

The teaming of Depp with Roman Polanski on a Gothic thriller falls short of its tantalising prospect, but it invokes enough apocalyptic intrigue to satisfy those not so over-familiar with black magic. Immaculate production design, moody score and off-centre humour arguably count for something, but like Mr. Kubrick's last project, this feels like the work of an ageing veteran no longer on the cutting edge of public taste.

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