My views on Rob Marshall's musical 'Nine'-an adaptation of Federico Fellini's classic '8 1/2'.

I was fairly skeptical before entering the movie hall to see this particular film because of the fact that many film critics have shot the movie down & haven't had very pretty things to say about it.Which got me thinking because really on the face of it what is NOT to like in a film starring the who's who (to put it mildly) of Hollywood.I mean lets start with the magnificent ladies-Kidman, Cruz, Dench, Loren, Fergie, Cotillard.All except the BEP lead singer can be considered as a class apart & has most definitely acted in movies that will go down in the history books as some of the greatest (and of course the fact that they appear in some racy lingerie).And then of course there's that powerhouse of an actor Daniel Day Lewis who doesn't merely play a character but rather breathes the character.And not to mention the fact that director Rob Marshall has previously directed one of the most memorable musicals in recent years 2004's Chicago.

Nine is based on the classic Federico Fellini film 8 1/2 (eight and a half). Now as legendary film critic Roger Ebert puts it 'every film lover should find time in his/her life to watch 8 1/2'.Well, i did find time to watch it. In fact it's the only Fellini film i have seen so far. I liked it. Even though it came with the baggage of the 'classic' tag on it.The characters were memorable,& so was the film on the whole. I found myself immersed in the movie which is always a good thing. Anyways without stretching this further (i may do a detailed analysis of 8 1/2 in some other entry) 8 1/2 was a film which made me curious about the work of Federico Fellini,and inspite of being a little heavy in parts for me, i made a mental note to myself to see this film once again in order to really love & admire it.



So getting back to Nine,i have to say i liked the film.It's not a perfect film by any measure neither would i say that its a very good film.But the film had me engaged for the 2 hours it played out.And the most valid reason for that is the actors.I think this film in the hands of other actors might have faltered.But these actors are great to look at & give convincing performances.Oh,about the plot,well...lets drift back a little to Fellini territory if you allow me.

Federico Fellini as great a filmaker as he was had a writer's block in 1962 as any filmaker has at some point or the other ( or so i think).So what does Fellini do to cure the writer's block? Well,it's fairly simple-he makes a film about a filmaker having a writer's block.


That was the plot for 8 1/2 & so it is for Nine. Daniel Day Lewis plays Guido Contini a legendary filmaker who can't get around to writing the script for his next film.He has a title,has decided that he's muse Claudia Jensenn (Kidman) will star in the movie,has a producer & even has a poster & the fashionable dresses ready for the film but hasn't been able to write a single word of the script.In a scene Kidman mocks Guido & the working system of the film industry when she quips 'I have the dresses for the character but i don't know what character i am playing'.


Dealing with the writer's block Guido is forced to balance the numerous formative women in his life, including his wife, Luisa (Marion Cotillard); his mistress, Carla Albanese (Penélope Cruz); his film star muse, Claudia Jenssen (Nicole Kidman); his confidante and costume designer, Lilli La Fleur (Judi Dench); an American fashion journalist, Stephanie (Kate Hudson); a prostitute from his youth, Saraghina (Fergie); and the spirit of his deceased mother, Mamma (Sophia Loren).



Being a musical the biggest problem lies with the fact that the musical numbers though nice and well done aren't memorable and lack the chutzpah.The 2 tracks that stood out for me were Marion Cotillard's 'My husband makes movies' and Nicole Kidman's beautiful 'Unusual way'.

Marion Cotilard stood out among the performances for me as the saddened,desperate wife Luisa,who sacrificed her career & liberty for Guido.

Penelope Cruz received an Oscar nomination for her role as Carla for this film.Now she does Carla as the bubbly,mischievous mistress very well but has very little screen time. Which got me thinking if it was enough to get an Oscar nomination.

Nicole Kidman looks stunning & does her part well.Dench is refreshing as the friendly costume designer who Guido is probably the most comfortable with.

Fergie & Hudson get their big musical numbers & do them well (although Hudson's 'cinema Italiano' is a bit cheesy)



Lewis gets into the skin of the character for the most part but in the end after watching Nine,one gets this image of Guido as more of a playboy if you will,who doesn't really care about the feelings of the women he's been with which is in deep contrast with Marcello Mastroianni's portrayal of Guido in 8 1/2 where u got the impression that Guido cared for all the women,


A major difference i thought between Nine & the classic 8 1/2 was that in 8 1/2 it was fairly difficult to differentiate what was Guido's reality & what was his imagination & herein lied the beauty of the film. Whereas in Nine it seems director Rob Marshall makes a deliberate attempt to differentiate the imaginary from the real.



8 1/2 was a classic and it cannot be recreated and i am sure the makers knew this,

Which raises the question,which audience was Nine really made for? Those who have seen Fellini's classic and wanted to revisit it? those who wanted to see it in a modern setting (it's still set in the 60's, so modern actors would be more like it) or to present it to those who haven't had the experience of the Fellini classic at all?


Any which way,its pretty confusing.I wondered how much of the film a person who hasn't seen 81/2 would've been able to grasp? Some scenes were recreated as-they-were in the original with even the dialogues being literal English translations of the Italian text.Also 2 of the most memorable scenes from the original,the 'bathtub' scene which more or less play's out in Guido's imagination,where the women involved assemble in a fantasy harem and greet him & the finale where all the characters come together have been done in a very patchy and uninspiring manner in Nine.


At the end of the day though Nine comes across as a shallow experience with sparks of brilliance.Something that had immense potential but never quiet lived up to it. And never gave an impression that it wanted to.

PROS:-

1.Acting performances
2.Penelope Cruz's striptease number (who wouldn't like that?)
3.Cinematography
4.Art direction

CONS:-

1.Lack of memorable musical numbers
2.Might be hard to follow for people who haven't seen 8 1/2
3.Slightly patchy screenplay
4.Actors not given screen time up to their potential.

-Abbas