9 Lives, the audacious and candid new film from director Dean Howell and writer Michael Kearns – on DVD Oct. 2 – follows the connections among nine seemingly unrelated individuals as they search their troubled pasts for the answers they desperately need in the present.

Opening with the somber homeward stride of Ronnie, an aging HIV-positive man with a penchant for alcohol and Jackie-O, 9 Lives delves directly into details of Ronnie’s upbringing and encounters with various partners, including the deaths of his first love in Vietnam and his greatest love to AIDS years later.

The film also gives a glimpse into the plight of Carlos, the second of the nine lives. Fatherless since birth, Carlos, a young “mixed breed,” spent his childhood caught in the whirlwind of his mother’s many volatile relationships and is now in search of the stability and validation a father can give. His wanderings take him to the poolside of TV producer Daniel and his boyfriend Corey, who have a certain amount of conflict of their own. Infidelity and deception are the results of the couple’s failure to deal with Daniel’s power issues and Corey’s growing unrest at his partner’s refusal to make their relationship known. A business transaction between Daniel and Bo, a chiseled hustler, offers a window into the latter’s past, that of a self-proclaimed “delicate kid” whose physical transformation began after his HIV-positive diagnosis at 30.

Next comes Mikey, a late-night hook-up of Bo’s who labors to balance his drug-dealing profession with both his disease and his responsibilities as a caretaker to his disabled younger brother. James, a client of Mikey’s, heals from the death of his partner only to be devastated by the loss of another in the Sept. 11 attacks. His subsequent sexual ventures bring him to Ralph, a closeted black man expecting his first child with his wife Lisa.

Each of these characters deals with heartache and losses the likes of which know no cultural or sexual boundaries: Carlos searches for a father’s love in strangers, Mikey struggles to cater to his disease and the needs of his brother, and Ronnie’s true love dies in his arms.

“I try always to bring in stories that people can relate to,” says Michael Kearns, who, in addition to writing the screenplay, also stars as Ronnie. “I deliberately brought in other issues like 9/11, and when you bring in other issues, you bring in other people.”

As much about demonstrating that brokenness extends beyond sexual boundaries, 9 Lives’ emphasis on personal pain is equally as important. The good-natured, almost dismissive treatment Ronnie gives the death of his partner is a wrenching reminder of the kind of heartache that hits close to home for so many. Carlos and Ralph’s issues with racism are relevant to a host of demographics, as is the struggle with drug addiction and heartbreak over failed relationships. Mikey’s concern for the well-being of his brother following his own inevitable fate is one with which everyone can identify, gay or straight, HIV-positive or not.

Based on a stage play created by Kearns titled Complications, which followed the troubled histories of nine people in Los Angeles through a series of monologues, 9 Lives, despite its adaptation, hasn’t lost a speck of its former sting.

“Because 9 Lives is taken from the theater, it maintains its sexual edge; it maintains its bite on film, and that’s an amazing accomplishment,” Kearns says.

And bite it does. The film portrays sexuality with frank honesty; most scenes leave little to the imagination. This contributes to the raw feel of the film, with each line seamlessly executed by the actors to give it the aura of a documentary, rather than a scripted movie.

Viewers can expect to be affected by every story that unfolds, every new connection that is made – all nine lives. Kearns and his cast succeed brilliantly in portraying the rough realities of life and the complexities of simply trying to

live.