Nine

(2009)

Directed by

Rob Marshall

Review by Todd Plucknett

Posted - 1/18/10

Rob Marshall’s Nine is one of the most anticipated films of the year. It is the musical follow-up to his Oscar-dominating Chicago and the gorgeous Memoirs of a Geisha. It is the final screenplay for Oscar-winner Anthony Minghella. It gathered the best cast since The Departed. It is an adaptation of the musical based on one of the best films ever made, Federico Fellini’s 8½. It is one of the rare roles for the always amazing Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis. The trailer looked outstanding. What possibly could have gone wrong? The answer: quite a bit.

The film is a lot like Fellini’s film in terms of story. Everything centers on Guido Contini (Day-Lewis), a movie director who is suffering from recent flops and maintaining organization in his personal and professional life. That is what it is supposed to be about anyway. Marshall’s film is much more about Guido and the many women in his life. Each of them has their own segment in the film. These include his mistress Carla (Oscar-winner Penelope Cruz), his costume designer Lilli (Oscar-winner Judi Dench), his wife Luisa (Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard), his favorite movie star Claudia (Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman), his mother (Oscar-winner Sophia Loren), an American movie star (Kate Hudson), and a woman from his childhood that made him into the man he is (Fergie).

With that cast loaded with Oscar-winners and nominees, it is hard to think that the film would be anything but an actor’s showcase. Well, it wasn’t. Most of them make fools of themselves. Day-Lewis had a wry smile on his face throughout the film, almost as a rolling of his eyes to how bad the material was. He really did nothing with the role, bringing no connection to Guido. Penelope Cruz’s part was basically a striptease. Her role asked nothing of her but to pout and look sexy. With that in mind, I guess she succeeded. Judi Dench and Sophia Loren had nothing to work with, when both of their parts could have been cornerstones to the film. Fergie had the most memorable song, but it was ruined by how it was displayed on screen. Kate Hudson had one of the new songs strictly for this film, and it seems that Marshall is at his best and most comfortable when the flash bulbs are popping. Maybe that is why her song seemed better than most. Nicole Kidman’s part was pointless and terribly shot.

The movie is basically in a tailspin until Marion Cotillard shows up. Her part added the first flavor of emotion to the film. It was almost like it seemed out of place. Nothing really draws any emotion or significance when she is not on screen. Her character is the heart of the film. Even she cannot escape the ridiculous striptease scene, but at least her scene served a purpose and drew some sympathy. Cruz’s scene was meant to titillate, but it was much more uncomfortable. Fergie’s part could have been amazing, but instead we are forced to watch her stomp on the ground on a stage, rather than her in a flashback, telling little Guido and others how to be a real Italian man. That would have been interesting to watch. Instead, it is nearly disastrous.

The songs are pretty awful in the film, especially the one that Cruz sings. Don’t get me wrong. I love Penelope Cruz. She has been on fire the last few years, but with this part, it is almost embarrassing for her. Marshall needs to go outside of his box at some point. All of the songs are staged the same way. A character begins talking, and suddenly they are on some abandoned stage singing and dancing with dozens of others. It is the exact same formula as Chicago, which, at least in my opinion, worked. On another note, the singers can’t exactly sing. Day-Lewis does not have much of a voice. Dench’s voice and song are atrocious. Kidman, Cotillard, and Fergie are the only ones whose voices I actually would choose to listen to. Sadly, only Cotillard knows how to show emotion while singing.

Everything here is just over-the-top. In a lot of ways, it is much like the 2008 film Australia. It is all style, yet very little substance. Simply looking spectacular and gathering up the biggest stars in Hollywood cannot alone make a movie work. The editing is done in a way that make too many scenes feel random and out of place. The direction is misguided. And what was up with that ridiculous wink to the Academy during the credits, begging for costume design, art direction, and makeup nominations? I could not believe it. Just when I thought it was taking itself seriously, we get a transition from pre-production clips to post-production clips? Give me a break. Save that for the DVD.

Now that I am done bashing the film, I can say a couple positive things about it. It is a lot of fun to watch. Even at its most distasteful, it is rousing entertainment. The costumes and sets are beautiful and elegant. It should swipe several artistic Oscar nominations. Marion Cotillard somehow is nearly Oscar-level in the film as well, even though she was constantly brought down by the direction and character flaws. The final scene of the film is quite good as well, but it really seemed more like a scene that would have better suited the stage. The film’s self-importance and gorgeous stars may be easy to get caught up in, but if anyone looks for depth in a musical, then their experience watching this one will be disappointing.

Comparing the film to 8½ would be a waste of time. It is worse on every single level. The only thing worth mentioning was that in Fellini’s film, the artistic inspiration of Guido was explored. In Nine, it doesn’t even touch on that. It is so emotionally distant that you really do not feel anything, when 8½ was very poignant and brilliant. I can already tell that this movie is going to be a hit with Academy members, simply because they cannot resist a musical and they now have 10 Best Picture nominees. Amazingly, I was not completely dissatisfied walking out of the film, though. It ends on a good note, and when I think about the lovely Marion Cotillard, all the awfulness seems bearable. Later in the day, I was still humming to myself “Be Italian” and thinking back on some of the captivating images of the film. Even though this is largely a negative review, I cannot say with a clear conscience that it is one of the worst films of the year. There is a lot to like. There is a lot to hate. I will put it right in the middle.

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