Š-DR-NINE de Rob Marshall (2009) p17

19/01/2014 10:13 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-NINE de Rob Marshall (2009) p16

19/01/2014 10:10 par tellurikwaves

Chicago style doesn't work for Italian style

Author: moviemanMA from Massachusetts
27 February 2010

I was surprised when Rob Marshall's Chicago took home the Oscar for Best Picture. A great movie but not my choice for best of 2002 (that I would award to Gangs of New York). All that aside, Marshall hasn't done much since. Only one movie, Memoirs of a Geisha, which I for some reason have neglected to see (I try to watch films that win for best cinematography). That's all beside the point. In his third film, Marshall goes back to his theatre roots and tackles another musical.

This time he has chosen Nine, a re-imagining of Federico Fellini's classic film 8 1/2. Already I am skeptical of the situation. I am fine with musicals. Some of the best films on celluloid have been musicals. What I have a problem with is the reworking of such a classic film like 8 1/2. It would take a lot of convincing to win me over. Unfortunately, it did not succeed.

Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Guido Contini, an Italian director who is planning on making the most important Italian film ever call Italia. The only problem is he hasn't written a script yet. To guide him he turns to the women in his life. His late mother (Sofia Loren), his wife Marion Cotillard, his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his costume designer and closest friend (Judi Dench), a fashion reporter (Kate Hudson), a childhood temptress Saraghina (Stacey "Fergie" Ferguson) and his leading lady (Nicole Kidman).

Contini tries to escape the pressure looming overhead by the media, his producers, and his cast and crew. He is constantly searching for the answer, bouncing around from one person to another. That's really all there is. He talks to people, sleeps around, and goes into his past.Right off the bat there is a slight problem. There are too many women! Not just for Contini but for the audience. There are too many big name actresses with almost equal parts. Who is more important? Who should we side with? It seems like he has such a close relationship with some of them and hardly any with others, yet they all practically get the same amount of screen time. They all have at least one song to their own.

That is another problem with the film. The musical aspect is distracting from the story. The music for the most part is average. A few songs like "Be Italian" and the Oscar nominated "Take it All" are very good, but for the most part, it's all bells and whistles. Like he did with Chicago, Marshall takes us from the real world of dialogue to the imaginary world of singing and dancing. My issue with this is that he spends an almost equal amount of time in both places. With Chicago, there was more story divulged in the real world. Nine has too much singing and not enough story telling.

The musical numbers are impressive, in particular the two songs I mentioned. Fergie really flexes the golden pipes with "Be Italian," a fun and sexy number that for me was the highlight of the film. Cotillard's number was also one of the better ones. This was a more emotional struggle and was one of the few numbers I felt really connected with the story. Kidman and Cruz each have decent numbers, and Dench's number is a bit over the top. She is better with the real world scenes.

I guess Marshall tried to replicate what he did with Chicago but came up short. I never was invested with any of the characters and Lewis' performance was not quite what I was looking for. I would have loved to have seen Raul Julia, the original Guido Contini from the first Broadway production, or even Antonio Banderas in the revival. I think someone with a more musical background would have been a more acceptable choice, but nevertheless, Lewis does a fairly decent job.

Š-DR-NINE de Rob Marshall (2009) p15

19/01/2014 10:07 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-NINE de Rob Marshall (2009) p14

19/01/2014 10:05 par tellurikwaves

What is wrong with everyone???

Author: invinceable08 from United States
31 December 2009

When I first found out that Rob Marshall was going to be making a movie version of Nine I was very excited because I knew he would be the best person to direct it because he could easily relate to the protagonist with his experience as a well known director and a women enthusiast. Also as a director he uses very creative imagery and elaborate sets to tell the story of a very specific situation, instead of just a broad scenario that happens everyday. I particularly love this style because I hate stories that I've already seen and heard a million times.

Because i felt this way about it i was shocked to hear that such a large majority of critic's thought it was so mediocre and I became hesitant to see it in fear of disappointment. Well, I did see it and let me tell you, there was nothing mediocre about it. It was a phenomenal movie. The dances and songs were beautiful, creative and very well performed. The storyline was very fresh and it kept the viewer interested in what Guido would do next because he was such a dynamic character. The women in his life were perfectly cast and fantastically played, especially Marion Cotillard, whom I had never heard of before this movie; it's fair to say she totally rocked her role instilling in me emotions that I never even knew I had. Penelope was ridiculously sexy yet still made the viewer empathize with her character.

Nicole Kidman was great (je n'ai pas trouvé) as the self-confident and inspiring muse. Daniel Day-Lewis was very believable in his role as the immature child trapped inside the older man's body named Guido, as his life spins out of control as reality finally begins to catch up with him.The main problem that critics had with this movie was that it wasn't like Fredrico Fellini's 8 1/2 on which nine was based but they shouldn't be comparing the two. This is a whole new movie and should be viewed for what it is and to me Nine is the most entertaining movie of the year and I am looking forward to seeing it again.

Š-DR-NINE de Rob Marshall (2009) p13

19/01/2014 10:03 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-NINE de Rob Marshall (2009) p12

19/01/2014 10:01 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-NINE de Rob Marshall p11

19/01/2014 09:59 par tellurikwaves

A Hot Mess...But a Mess of Oscar-Worthy Material

Author: o-donnell_w from United States
9 December 2009

I could honestly say that walking out of "Nine" I felt more conflicted over what I thought of the movie than I have in years. The film can be reviewed in two aspects though, its performances and its story, so I'll dissect those.

Performances: Let me first say that no actress delivered any less than they possibly could, and you could tell that the cast had worked their butts off during production.The Great- Marion Cotillard in particular delivered what is sure to be one of the most understated performances in recent memory, as well as delivering the two most powerful and emotional numbers in the show. Penelope Cruz was SEXY, and as her character's story was wrapped up she beautifully portrayed a "mistreated mistress," so to speak. Judi Dench was fantastic as the background player in Guido's career, perfectly delivering wit while supporting her friend. Most importantly, these three worked so well because they were interlinked in each other's story, and as a result their plot lines flowed well into each other.

The OK- DDL and Sophia Loren were fine in their parts, simply filling out their roles and not seriously improving on or dragging down the movie in any way.The Misused- Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, and Fergie were all criminally misused, although fantastic when on the screen. All three had stories that didn't synch with the movie, whether they be Kidman (who honestly needed a more fleshed out role that came in contact w/ other characters other than just Guido), Hudson (whose number really felt like it would have made more sense in the beginning of the movie), or Fergie ("Be Italian" felt shoehorned in and disconnected, and would have been a perfect opener or closing number). All three felt particularly disconnected from the film.I can honestly say that not one of the players in Marshall's cast disappointed, but it was Marshall himself and the messy script (irony!) that jumbled up the movie and left me with a very disjointed, disconnected result. Each scene was Oscar-worthy, but they were only partially threaded together into a cohesive story.

Š-DR-NINE de Rob Marshall (2009) p10

19/01/2014 09:56 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-NINE de Rob Marshall (2009) p9

19/01/2014 09:54 par tellurikwaves

Six

Author: Donald Agustamarian from London, England
1 February 2010

Let me say off the bat that seeing Sophia Loren singing gave me a chill. That is quite a bit to get from a film. Chills. I knew I had to forget this was a musical adaptation of 81/2, but I couldn't forget the way I forgot that "Sweet Charity" was a musical remake of "The Nights Of Cabiria". Here the score is iffy and scarce and the story, translated into musical numbers is kind of shallow and, quite honestly, not enough. There are, however, moments to enjoy. The look of it is great, and Marion Cotillard makes something enormous from the little she was given. Penelope Cruz dances an erotic dance and Kate Hudson, well I don't quite know what she was doing. Nicole Kidman is starting to look like a wax work, what a pity! And Judi Dench is always fun. I was reminded she was a sublime Sally Bowles in the first London production of "Cabaret" - Daniel Day Lewis has been one of my favourites for a long time now but here he is far too pale, inside and out. I want to repeat that the whole thing is worth it just to have a glimpse of Sophia Loren singing. So, 6.

Š-DR-NINE de Rob Marshall p8

19/01/2014 09:51 par tellurikwaves