Nine Review
“Mistro Contini, how do you begin? How do you begin this thing? Page one, page one… Page nothing”.
The start of the rainy season called for a day to catch up on all those movies that you have been meaning to watch but have been advised not too…. ‘Nine’ was one of those!
The screenplay for the movie is an adoption of the musical ‘Nine’, based on director Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film 8½. Directed by Rob Marshall with a star-studded cast including Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Judi Dench and a backdrop of Rome in 1965,‘Nine’ has all the key elements to make this musical drama a success.
Nine allows the audience to delve into the mind of Guido Contini, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, the ‘mistro’ of the Italian film industry in the 1960’s. The film opens with a head shot of Contini during a press conference where he is explaining why he is always so ‘secretive’ about his films prior to production “ You kill your film several times mostly by talking about it….. that’s why I’m secretive”. We learn later, as he confides in the seamstress, his oldest confidant; Lilli La Fleur played by Judi Dench that there is no script, a common trend in his creative process.
This story lines proceeds throughout the film as he continuously buckles under the pressure from his producer and the press. He escapes to Anzio to get away from everyone including his wife to unblock his writers block with the help of his Mistress Carla; Penélope Cruz.
Marshall has captured the glamour, sex and entertainment of the 1960’s in the musical numbers throughout Nine. The production side is fantastic with stunning costumes, set designs to die for and cinematography that is a piece of art; yet they lack the intensity that leaves you wanting more, instead you are left waiting for more. Rob Marshall and John DeLucas choreography retains the essence of the period without being ‘cliché’ or pulling focus from the central actor or actress.
Nine in an artistically intelligent movie and those with a love of the arts will appreciate it as did I. Although it does not quite have the pizzazz and wow factor of Marshalls previous films such as ‘Chicago’, you are taken on a journey of a talented director and introduced to what really happens behind the scenes in this gold washed industry. Yet you finish watching ‘Nine’ unsatisfied but still appreciative and happy to have been taken on the journey.