On “Nine”

We just came home from seeing the new movie musical of “Nine” and I have a few thoughts to share…am I becoming an entertainment critic?

Movie musicals are very dear to my heart and I’ll have more to say on them in the future.  I’m excited every time Hollywood tries to take on filming a musical.  For so many years, there were none.  Then came “Chicago” and the genre was seen as financially viable by Hollywood again.  “Rent” and “Dreamgirls” followed and each was successful in its own way.  I hope “Nine” does not slow or stop additional musicals from being made.  I hear it is tanking at the box office after costing $80 million dollars to make.  There were a total of seven people in the theatre tonight when we went to see it.  Two of them left after about a half hour.

Let me say up front that I liked, but didn’t love “Nine”.  I want to see it again sometime now that I’ve figured out what I saw.  I was expecting a big musical, but what I got was an art film.

I saw the revival of “Nine” on Broadway with Antonio Banderas a few years ago.  It’s not a great show to begin with, but can be engaging.  The right lead is the key and I think, good as he was, Daniel Day-Lewis was miscast.  He was good, but I always saw the cerebral British actor working very hard to be the lusty, emotional, sexually driven Italian director.  “Nine” is  about this man’s internal journey and the roles various women have played in his life and how they impact his art.  Each woman is a key to his character.

This is a difficult concept to “open up” and make into a film.  The result is very much a musical art film– not a gangbuster Hollywood Musical.  I wish Rob Marshall,  the director had recognized this earlier in the film.  It was difficult to become engaged with the character of Guido Contini with the erratic “Chicago” style camera work employed at the beginning of the film.  I know this was intended to convey the energy of Rome in the 1960’s when Italian cinema was all the rage. But I found it impeded the initial attempts to establish the character of Guido Contini.  It did not draw me in, but rather distanced me from the film.

All the women were marvelous.  Marion Cotillard, who was so amazing in “Piaf” a couple of years ago, is luminous as Luisa, Guido’s wife.  Penelope Cruz is wonderful as his mistress.  Judy Dench stops the show with her big number.  Fergie is an earthy revelation.  Sophia Loren is Sophia Loren-what more can you want?

My only complaint is Kate Hudson.  She is beautiful  She sings and dances the hell out of a very mediocre song.  However, her character is out-of-place in the film.  In a film about the important women in one man’s life, her newly added part is basically a potential one night stand of no importance to the plot.  If it were up to me, good as she is, I would leave her part and her song on the cutting room floor.  Inserting the song and the character into the film doesn’t work–it’s clearly an attempt for the composer to get in a new song to qualify for Oscar consideration for “Best Song”.  It isn’t…

Just a few thoughts I thought I would share.  I’ll be interested to hear other opinions.  More movies to come this week!