Yesterday I saw the movie "Nine." Although there are about seven other movies out I'd rather see, the company I was with was dying to see the film adaption of the Broadway musical, so I packed my gummi bears and off we went.
"Nine" is a movie that has an all star cast and some outstanding musical numbers, but never comes together as one cohesive film. While there were moments I enjoyed, overall, I couldn't wait for it to be over. I think I checked my watch six times during the two hour film.
Daniel Day Lewis plays the lead, Guido Contini, who is trying to come up with a plot for his 9th movie. On stage, this role had been played by Antonio Banderas and Raul Julia, but on screen, Day Lewis just didn't cut it. He lacked sex appeal and seemed to go in and out of an Italian accent. We spent the entire drive home from the theater brainstorming which actors could have been more successful in the role.
Guido's wife in played by Marion Cotillard, who is indisputably the star of this film. She has several emotional and poignant moments that take your breathe away.
Equally phenomenal was Penelope Cruz in the role of Guido's mistress. In this role, as she is in many other films, Cruz is fiery, passionate and electric.
The best and most comedic dialogue comes from Guido's costume designer and confidant, played by Judi Dench. Her ability to tell Guido exactly what he needs to hear keeps him humble and keeps the audience laughing.
Fergie of the Blacked Eyes Peas is also featured in the film as a prostitute Guido met as a child. She has a high energy singing number called "Be Italian" that sticks with you after you leave the theater.
Surprisingly, the best musical number stars Kate Hudson called "Cinema Italiano." Hudson plays a reporter for Vogue magazine who is dying to interview as well as sleep with Contini. Her musical number is high energy, has great costumes, and brings the movie back to life.
Lastly, Nicole Kidman plays Contini's muse and although she isn't on screen until the end of the film, she wears two stunning evening gowns that seem to be made just for her figure and coloring. She was absolutely gorgeous.
One of the most fun parts of the film actually came at end, when the credits were rolling. While the names were scrolling, they showed behind the scenes footage of rehearsals for the film! It was very cool to see. We had been wondering if the cast sang their songs or if they had professional singers record the performances, but by the looks of the behind the scenes footage, it seems they all sang their own numbers.
While I could see how "Nine" would be fun to see as a Broadway show, I just couldn't get into the movie. Certain pieces were spectacular, but they never melded together to form one solid product.
The film is nominated for five Golden Globe awards (to be given out on January 17th) and both Maron Cotillard and Penelope Cruz deserve those gold statuettes.
If you feel you must see the film, I recommend saving your money and waiting until its available on Netflix.
