Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis and Melissa McCarthy get an opportunity to strut their acting stuff in this Twilight Zone-like feature debut from John August, the A-list screenwriter of Sweeney Todd and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This puzzling exercise comes in three parts, featuring a triptych of actors in multiple roles. First, Reynolds plays a cool TV star under house arrest who’s kept in check by his publicist (McCarthy) and wooed by his single mother neighbor (Davis), while he continually finds the number nine turning up everywhere. Then, a gay TV writer (Reynolds) fears that his supernatural TV show starring a hot actress (McCarthy) will be ruined when a network executive (Davis) interferes. Finally, a married couple (Reynolds, McCarthy) finds themselves in the TV show of the previous segment, lost in the Hollywood Hills, where they confront a mysterious backpacker (Davis). This smartly realized film features Reynolds in impressive change-of-pace roles and will remind adventurous viewers of such similarly challenging narratives as Memento, Adaptation and Mulholland Dr.

Shelf Talk: Despite some film-festival play and good reviews, this title received only limited-theatrical exposure. There’s a definite audience for this sort of experimentally audacious effort, the sort of movie that will leave some totally absorbed and others scratching their heads trying to figure out exactly what is going on. Be sure to talk up rising star Reynolds, who really raised his game with this one, and the always-fine Davis, who has been recently seen in the newly-released titles The Hoax and Infamous.