Review: Nine
If you need a dose of Federico Fellini, you might get just that in Nine, the adaptation of the Broadway musical that re-interprets Fellini's film 8 1/2. The story is a slight shift from the original film, filling in backstory and turning it into a love poem to objectified women and their rebellion against a self-centered, childish and charming egotist.
(In)famous Italian director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) is about to start filming his latest production, but he doesn't have a script, and can't escape his own celebrity status or his relationships long enough to concentrate on it. His creative crises is exacerbated by his personal ones as he fails to balance his relationships with his wife Luisa (Marion Cotillard), his married mistress Carla (Penelope Cruz), his reluctant muse Claudia (Nicole Kidman), and brash fashionista journalist Stephanie (Kate Hudson) who makes it clear she wants to be one of his women, too.
Guido is the worst sort of egotist: an irresistible blend of humility, childishness and charm, he cannot resist women of any sort. The pedestals he puts them on give them little maneuvering room, leading to rebellion against the man they all love. Daniel Day-Lewis has the coy charm to carry off Guido, a role originated in the musical by the late Raul Julia. Only Lewis is not the real star of the film, he's the connector.
Director Rob Marshall managed to get some of the top talent among actresses, from the legendary Sophia Loren (Mamma), to Nicole Kidman and Dame Judi Dench (Lillie, Guido's costume designer and confidante).
Kate Hudson's song "Cinema Italiano" has been nominated for a Golden Globe as a Best Original Song, which is surprising because it's awkward and uninteresting. The superior number is Marion Cotillard's (Luisa, Guido's wife) heartbreakingly fragile and steely "Take it All." Cotillard, who played Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, proves that performance was not a fluke, and embodies every heartbroken woman who ever completely gave herself to someone only to have it crushed.
That's not to say Cotillard's performance isn't the only standout. Penelope Cruz's Carla has a burlesque number, ironically entitled "A Call From The Vatican," that can turn a straight woman lesbian it's so hot. And Fergie's Saraghina has a number with uninspired choreography, but she still absolutely owns the song "Be Italian."
The rest of the numbers are uneven and generic, and even within the spectacle of the opening number "Overture Delle Donne" and its "la-lal-as", there's not a lot of heart in it. Still, Nine is an interesting counterpoint to Fellini's 8 1/2, although likely to be most appreciated by Fellini fans who love musicals.