Review of Nine (2009) by Smijatov — 11 Aug 2010

Well, 'Nine' surely is not Rob Marshall's masterpiece (especially after 'Chicago' and 'Memoirs of a Geisha'), but it does have some good points.

First of, technically, there is not much to say against it. Good costumes and set design, nice cinematography and good enough music. The performances are very good, especially Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard. Penelope Cruz, once again, proves that she is a very versatile performer and excellently pin-points the Italian accent for the role of Contini's mistress. Cotillard is also excellent, but somewhat underwhelming after her amazing performance in 'La Vie en Rose'. However, the rest of the cast is very good, too. Daniel Day-Lewis is not as good as usual, but still decent. Judi Dench is, well.. somewhat disturbing, but still ok. Nicole Kidman is perfect as the actress-diva of the 60s, but is somewhat underused, since the first half of the film is just building up for her arrival and then: nothing. Lovely performance and singing, though. The story is hard to follow and at the end of the film one wonders what it was all about. A writers block? A mid-life crisis? Many women? A man who does not know what he wants with his life? With his film? Seems ironical, since it reflects Rob Marshall's confusion over what to do with this film, for he surely could have done a much better job.