From Rob Marshall, the director of CHICAGO comes NINE, a vibrant
and provocative musical filled with love, lust, passion and
glamour. A world famous film director reaches a creative and
personal crisis of epic proportion, while balancing numerous
women in his life. With its incredible all-star cast, amazing
performances and stunning visuals, this razzle-dazzle
extravaganza will make you long to BE ITALIAN.
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"Be Italian!" comes the thundering command from one of the
catchiest songs in Nine, and the movie version of this Broadway
musical hit is undeniably solid on that point. It's drenched in
cool cars, glamorous Italian threads, and cozy Roman
neighborhoods, all circa 1962. That, you will note, is the
vintage of Federico Fellini's classic film 8 ½, the source for
both the stage show and Rob Marshall's frantic musical picture.
As in the Fellini, the story revolves around film director Guido
Contini, a glamorous public genius who's expected to begin
shooting his expensive new movie in a few days. The only problem
is, the maestro has no idea what his next film will be about, and
he spirals through a week of mistresses, s, and robust
fantasy as he avoids the subject. Marshall's approach to
musicalizing this massive case of writer's block is to shunt the
songs off into the giant studio where the sets for Guido's new
movie have been built; the idea, presumably, is to frame them so
the audience isn't perturbed by the old-movie convention of
characters breaking into song in the middle of a scene. Fair
enough, maybe, but did the numbers themselves have to be so
aggressively vulgar? All of Guido's women have their turn to
vocalize (and invariably writhe around in slutty underwear):
Marion Cotillard plays his faultless wife, Penélope Cruz a
hot-tempered mistress, Nicole Kidman his elegant star, Kate
Hudson a horny journalist, Black Eyed Peas member Fergie the
voluptuous beachside prostitute of Guido's childhood. And that's
not the end of Guido's feminine carousel; Judi Dench plays his
loyal costumer, and Sophia Loren lends her iconic stature to the
role of Guido's mother. The man himself is played by Daniel
Day-Lewis, who doesn't have the sheer movie-star presence of
Mastroianni in 8 ½, even if he creates an intriguing visual
figure--all bony intensity and jags. The film's empty
flash is quickly numbing, and even fans of the original musical
will likely find it a chore sorting through the glitz. On the
upside, it may make you want to watch 8 ½ again. --Robert Horton
Stills from Nine (Click for larger image)
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