Review of Nine (2009) by Jorge M — 24 Jun 2010

I really wanted to like this movie. It had all the ingredients for being a knock-off musical. First off all, it was directed by Rob Marshall, who did one of the most outstanding jobs in musicals with Oscar-winning Chicago in 2002. Second, it was based on a very succesful Broadway play, that at the same time was based upon one of the greatest film directors, Federico Fellini. And third, and most importantly, it had a cast that every single director and producer dreams about. Together, the cast combines more than ten Academy award wins and nominations, not to mention several SAG, Golden Globes, and Grammys. I don't know what could go wrong with this film. But unfortunately, something did, giving us as a result a film that merely goes halfway in all the potential it had. A personal slight disappointment, and more sadly it was probably a step back from all the road that musicals have covered in the last decade. A road that, ironically, Rob Marshall himself started.

The story is not a bad one, at all. Guido Contini (a sometimes annoying Daniel Day-Lewis), a film director, is suffering a dreaded writer's block and can't make himself produce a new script for his following movie. We soon realize why, as, in the words of his wife Luisa (played by a magnificent Marion Cotillard), "he is too busy inventing his own life". We see how his world revolves around the seven women that had influenced his life in one way or another: his wife, his mistress, his mother, his costume designer and confident, his muse and leading actress, an American journalist, and a prostitute from his youth. The main problem with the story was, I think, that it had way too many subplots as well as actresses. If they had only stuck with the wife-mistress-block story, probably adding some subtle female "distractions" along the way, the film would have worked so much better. It tries to cover more than it can and it ends up looking forced, confusing, and unnecessary.

The acting goes from good, to regular, to none. The highlight of the film is definitely Marion Cotillard. She delivered the deepest and more human performance, and definitely was one of the best voices of the film. If anyone should have been nominated for an Oscar, it should have been her and not Penélope Cruz. Cruz was good, another of the good actings, but I don't think she was nomination material. Still, her character gave lots to the main, and probably clearest, plotline.

The regular actings include Judi Dench, which actually gave an above average performance, and the lead, Daniel Day-Lewis. I think his Italian accent was was too forced and it sounded fake, as well as his singing voice (I'm sorry, he can't sing...). He overacted at some parts, and hi depression came out looking annoying and maddening. He didn't make a connection with the audience at all, and at least I never got to feel his frustration and desperation.

Nicole Kidman, Fergie, Sophia Loren, and Kate Hudson. Well, I can't decide if their acting was good or bad, simply because there wasn't any. All of the four characters were completely unnecessary to the story, as well as their musical numbers. Nicole Kidman just confused me even more with her "Unusual Way" number. Fergie never had any dialogue. Not one word. Ironically, her number is probably the most memorable song in the film. Kate Hudson 's character could have been developed way better, but she only apports a merely good appearance as well as a number that merely looks and sounds good, but apports nothing. And Sophia Loren is just there as the ghost of Guido's mother. That's pretty much all she does.

What was really good about this movie, and it always is in Marshall's films, is the production design. Everything, from costumes, to music, to art direction, was flawlessly done. The elements of decoration in the musical numbers, the flashy dresses, the light angles; everything talks Broadway, and that's something I always appreciate when I watch a musical. While there aren't any memorable numbers (except for the "Be Italian" and "Cinema Italiano", at least for me, but who am I kidding? It's just because I carry those songs in my iPod), the production of these are very well made, and they do transport you inside the atmosphere of the situations, no matter how unnecessary they might be.

What I must say, is that there was something that made me raise the bar of this movie quite a lot, and that made me think that probably the future of musicals in film is not in jeopardy after all. The best part of the film was the amazing final sequence. There wasn't any dialogue, any singing, or dancing. Just Contini getting back to what he does best as he metaphorically has his back covered by the seven women of his life. I think that scene alone, the combination and mixture of all the elements of past numbers, was what made the movie worth it in a big way.

So, "Nine" was a disappointment , especially with all the ingredients it had for becoming a great musical. It will be very probably forgotten by movie watchers, and avoided by musical fans. Even with this, I haven't lost hopes on Rob Marshall or the new musical age at all. I still hope he regains his name after he finishes Pirates 4, and there are several musical movies to come. As for this one, I think this is one of the best examples that a great cast, a great director and a great concept not always can save a movie...