Nine: Movie Review

Nine: Movie Review

Rating: 5/10
Cast: Daniel Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Fergie, Kate Hudson, Marion Cottilard, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman
Director: Rob Marshall
Based on the Tony musical of the same name (which is itself based on Federico Fellini's 8 ý), director Rob Marshall (Chicago) unveils his version on the big screen.
Daniel Day Lewis stars as Italian film director Guido Contini, the maestro of cinema Italiano, who's under pressure to create his ninth film. Contini's revered in Italy (despite a string of recent flops - a running gag in the film) but is struggling to come up with a script for his ninth outing on the big screen.
But despite seeking inspiration from the women in his life - a prostitute from youth (Fergie), his mistress Carla (a fiery sparky Penelope Cruz), his wife Luisa (an ever dependable Marion Cotillard), his mother (Sophia Loren) and his muse (Nicole Kidman), he's got nothing.
With the studio on his back, sets being built and time running out, Guido's got nowhere to hide - can he get his magic back?
Nine is a sexy, spectacularly lavish affair - with its women giving their all both vocally and physically on the screen, it seemed destined not to fail. And yet, somehow, it manages to do so.
The mark of any decent musical is how well the songs fit into the overall scheme - and to be fair to Nine, the majority of them don't feel shoe horned into the screenplay simply for the film's sake. While Day Lewis is good and verges on farcical at times as he tries to avoid the ever tightening cinematic noose around his neck, it's difficult to empathise with this director who has it all and yet is suffering from writer's block.
The scenery around Rome is stunning and the sets are pretty impressive - but it's some of the musical numbers which fail to stay in the mind hours after you've left the cinema. The opening number as Contini wanders onto his partially built set and is met by the echoes of the women in his mind recalls the final moments of the Muppet Show opening as the gang sang through the arches - only mixed with a Pussycat Dolls audition.
Fergie does well as a prostitute whose influence on Guido's catholic lifestyle shapes him in later life and Penelope Cruz is excellent as the mistress - but they can only go so far as to stave off the quiet moments.
There are lulls throughout the film - and while I'm happy to admit there are always challenges to adapting musicals for the big screen, this one needed a little more effort on the writing front; it hangs together okay but never really grabs the audience.

Ultimately Nine is a case of style over substance; it's a brilliantly, visually dazzling feast but after it's done you'll be hard pressed to remember too much about it.