Nine

Some people are talking about Oscar nominations for the new Rob Marshall musical, Nine, but if you like good movies you’ll be extremely upset by this. Yes, yes , yes, the star of the show is the incomparable Daniel Day-Lewis who plays Guido Contini, based on the character Guido Anselmi of Fellini’s 8 ¬Ω. But even Lewis can’t save this flick from becoming what could be a good or almost great movie. —¬† kind of like Michael Mann’s summer flop Public Enemies which had a beautiful, amazing cast including Johnny Depp, Billy Crudup, Christian Bale, and even Marion Cotillard but still something was missing and people just couldn’t connect with it. It was a total guy movie full of guns, cunning, crime, sex, and action and ladies loved it for the men who starred in it — The same could be said of Rob Marshall’s Nine. Here’s the lineup-Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido Contini, filmmaker, Marion Cotillard as his wife Luisa Contini, Dame Judi Dench as Lilli, Contini’s long time costume designer and confidant, Pen√©lope Cruz as Carla, mistress to Contini, Sophia Loren, Contini’s mama, Kate Hudson as Stephanie, American fashion journalist, Stacey Ferguson (Fergie) plays Saraghina, a whore who introduces Contini to the world of sex and desire at the tender age of 9, and Nicole Kidman as Claudia, Contini’s muse and star of his movies. Yeah, men all over the world should be flocking to see all of these women in their lingerie inspired, sequined, tasseled, and bustiered bosoms (even Dame Dench). Thank you Colleen Atwood (Nine‘s Costume Designer) for more incredible costumes, by the way. But Michael Tolkin and Anthony Minghella’s adaptation of the 1982 Tony Award winning Broadway musical leaves a lot to be desired.

Plot: Contini has to start shooting his new movie in 10 days and he has no script. SPOILER ALERT! And suddenly his life turns to bleep.

The opening number was underwhelming. Rob Marshall and John DeLuca‚Äôs choreography gets old quick. The way each of Contini’s women is introduced is both polished and entertaining but only for a moment. Marshall uses the same old tricks in his staging and choreography time after time, song after song. There are a few tunes that aren’t all fluff and fodder such as Luisa singing “My husband makes movies.” This song should have been spoken. It repeats itself a million times, therefore losing any and all impact as a dramatic piece. The same could be said about the movie as a whole. Nothing is implied; everything is overstated and straightforward.

I am a huge fan of musicals but I prefer the musicals where people are talking and then suddenly burst into song. I mean, I thought that’s what a musical was supposed to be. Even freakin’ Seth McFarland of the subversive TV show Family Guy understands this Рcue Stewie and Brian’s “on the road to Rhode Island.” Of course, before there was Family Guy there was Oklahoma, Oliver!, Hello Dolly, Rent or the recently revamped Tim Burton adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. It’s the magic of the musical genre! That while going about your daily duties everyone around just starts singing! What a world! (As an aside I must mention this: there is a group of artists from New York city called Improv Everywhere. They act out strange and curious, we’ll call them “plays,” in public places for everyone around to enjoy. I recently saw one on You Tube where they gathered in a grocery store and some guy starts singing about fruit and then a woman joins in and then another and another until they are singing and dancing in perfect harmony about how putting different kinds of fruit together in love can change the world! WOW! I’d give anything to be a part of that! And the person surreptitiously filming this performance gathered comments from shoppers in the store. They all loved it, like a little piece of magic in their otherwise dull grocery shopping experience.) I understand what Mr. Marshall has done with Nine is nothing new of course. There are other movie musicals of recent years where every song and dance is imagined or a mere memory. Take Chicago for example – Oh wait.

The problem begins with the starkly contrasting colors of each musical number. Almost every song is set on a stage with spotlights and the same Rome in ruins set. Most of the time Contini is sitting in nearby scaffolding, watching and musing. The camera swings around, back and forth, in and out like a Ferris wheel. Most of the singing is really great though. Saraghina’s “Be Italian” is a standout number and the way in which Marshall uses the scene to recall Contini’s first sexual enterprise, mixing color and black and white shots, is nicely done. Contini’s mistress Carla is introduced performing a kind of burlesque routine on a mirrored surface, kicking her legs out and pulsing and gyrating all over the floor. I swear I was blushing in the darkness of the theatre. But who wouldn’t be? I mean, there’s skin in there for all ages. They put Dame Dench in a bustier and made her sing and walk around on stage. Though they could have given her something worth saying. Yes, we get it- Contini’s life is a façade. How apt for his costume designer to be the one to make that point. Though as the older, wiser of Contini’s confidants, Lilli understands that her job is to make beautiful clothes Рthat no one actually cares about what Contini’s characters are saying or doing. She actually says that to Contini himself. To us, the audience, as if we wouldn’t have gotten that theme in some subtler way.

There are 3 standout performances in this film. Marion Cotillard as Contini‚Äôs wife was truly a pleasure to watch. She wasn‚Äôt given much to work with as her character wasn‚Äôt fleshed out enough but Cotillard has a way of pulling you into every word she says. She is the most approachable character in the movie. This is illustrated by the way she conservatively dresses or the way she reacts to seeing Carla walk in during a dinner meeting with the producers and her husband. You immediately feel sorry for her and she redeems herself by taking control of her own life in the end. Daniel Day-Lewis is absolutely flawless as the disheveled, charming creative genius. He just rolls out of bed with a cigarette in his mouth, smiles, and you believe him. You actually want to like him because he is so cool. His singing is pretty good, but it actually reminded me of Jack the Pumpkin King from A Nightmare Before Christmas. Sorry for the reference but it‚Äôs true! Again, he sings on his dismantled or partly finished stage with a spotlight on him and a fog machine going in the background. Arg! Rob Marshall’s directing again getting in the way of good performances. My favorite character is the starlet Claudia. She makes her entrance toward the end of the movie but it‚Äôs worth the wait. Claudia makes her stand against Contini as she decides that she would rather play the role of the man in his new film. She doesn‚Äôt want to play the highly sexualized females that Contini has written for her and she too walks out on him. Hooray feminism! This one brave act from one woman in the movie does not make the ending of Nine any less annoying. All the women entering the sound stage where he‚Äôs apparently filming 8 ¬Ω is just ridiculous. Yes, Contini is who he is because of all the women in his life but this just seemed like they were encouraging him- like they were proud to have been his discarded muses. I mean what a misogynist! Perhaps that‚Äôs too harsh. Nah. It‚Äôs definitely appropriate.

But please go see Nine if not for the story then for pure enjoyment of glitter on slick skin, spotlights, and choreography. Broadway tickets are around $80 here is San Antonio. So, $9 is a steal is it not? I saw the movie with my sister, who’s been in musical theatre since she was 6, and my husband and we all agreed on this: condense the movie down to the musical performances and you’ve got several pretty good music videos. Actually, given the sparkles and the way several scenes were lit with contrasting colors all in the same shot gave me some great ideas for an upcoming photo shoot. But that was precisely the problem. This movie is made up of a bunch of pretty pictures. Eye candy. I wish it were better though. Especially since this is my first review for the Breach and all.

Recent posts by Desiree

• The Joneses - April 26th, 2010
• Death at a Funeral (2010) - April 19th, 2010
• Date Night - April 12th, 2010
• How to Train Your Dragon - March 29th, 2010
• Newsworthy: "Wizard of Oz" on the Silver Screen - March 16th, 2010

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz