Review of Nine (2009) by Nikki K — 17 Jun 2010

Guido Contini, the famous Italian director, is struggling with his next big film. He has no script and no inspiration, yet everyone is counting on him. He tries to juggle both his new film, his wife, his mistress, his producer and his muse. Oh yeah, he also talks to his dead mother.

Nine is an ambitious film, I'll give it that. Rob Marshall, Director of the Best Picture winner Chicago, serves up disappointment with Nine. The film feels like Marshall is trying to rekindle the magic he had with Chicago and he comes up short, specifically with the musical numbers. For everything that I liked about it, there were two things I didn't. Nine needs to be more focused and shorter. The movie is about film-making but Marshall presents it to us in the style of a stage play. Everything from the set-pieces to lighting screams the stage. It was an interesting touch but felt out of place because it dealt with the art of FILM-making. The musical numbers, uninspiring and boring, even attest to this. With the exception of Fergie, who gives us the best song and dance number, all the rest are performed without pizzazz.

Nine is blessed with a phenomenal cast, most of them Oscar winners: Daniel Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Judie Dench, Kate Hudson, Fergie, Nicole Kidman, and the lengendary Sophia Loren. Itâ??s hard to believe, with that cast, this movie was a bit of a flop. Daniel Day Lewis, with an amazing Italian accent, is the obvious stand out here. Penelope Cruz is the mistress, who has the sexiest scene in this movie, and possibly career though her work is merely so-so. With the exception of Lewis, the only other actor with any emotional depth is Marion Cotillard. All the others are pretty much there to fill up time and sing their one song. The filmâ??s emotional scenes don't play out as well as they should have and it just drags on and on. I found myself wanting it to end sooner and sooner, but it kept going.

On the plus side, the choreography is great and the cinematography really grabs you. The movie isn't terrible, but Chicago was far superior. I liked it enough to give it a modest rating, but itâ??s most definitely a rental. Perhaps the most disappointing thing about it is that the film just lacks heart.