Friday, February 26, 2010
By Rose Graner
Entertainment Editor
Chances are you’ve seen a movie poster for “Nine.”
You remember it for either the three lingerie-clad women on it, or for the fact that those three women are Fergie, Penelope Cruz, and Kate Hudson. ‘Whatever this movie is about,’ you probably thought, ‘it must be good.’ You were misled.
From a cinematic perspective, “Nine” is well-executed. The acting is stellar, the musical numbers are inspired, and the sets are flawless. Even the plot is, at heart, well put-together. The actual film leaves audiences cold, though, because it fails to drum up any sympathy for the characters.
The main character, Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis), is based on Frederico Fellini, an influential Italian director who died in 1993.
“Nine” outlines Guido’s extramarital affairs, his romance with his wife and his relationships with women in general.
“Nine” is a film with an extremely long history. Its screenplay is based on a novel. That novel was based on a musical, which was based on a play which was inspired by Fellini’s autobiographical film entitled “8 1/2.”
During the course of the film, Guido introduces viewers to his mother (Sophia Loren), his current maternal figure (Judi Dench), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his former mistress (Nicole Kidman), his one-time fling (Kate Hudson), a prostitute he was fascinated by in his youth (Fergie), and his wife (Marion Cotillard).
Through flashbacks as well as scenes set in the present day (the present day being the 1960s), it traces Guido’s half-hearted split from his mistress, which prompts a split from his wife. This in turn prompts a real split from his mistress as well as a reconnection with a former mistress.
“Nine” is billed as many things: a biopic of Frederico Fellini, a large-scale musical like “Chicago,” and an intriguingly scandalous movie starring Hudson, Cotillard, Kidman, Fergie and Cruz. It was none of those things.
Yes, “Nine” was about Fellini in a sense. But it generalized him, made him into an “impulsive artistic director man” and let the true Fellini fall by the wayside. During “Nine,” viewers are again and again prevailed upon to sympathize with Guido, but even Daniel Day-Lewis’ excellent performance can’t change the nature of his character.
Guido constantly laments his difficult existence: his wife left him because of his affairs, he can’t seem to stop having said affairs, and the pressure of being considered a symbol of Italian national pride is becoming more stress than he can handle.
Finally, “Nine” is technically a musical in the sense that it has musical numbers. But that intangible element which turns a movie with songs into a true musical is missing. The film isn’t a dramatic, larger-than-life portrayal of Fellini as a man. In fact, Fellini himself is simply lost within the various elements of his life featured in the film so prominently.
His female co-stars performed beautifully. Fergie, in particular, actually gave a surprisingly compelling performance as a village prostitute.
However, the paltry number of scenes each character was given, combined with a lack of character development, left no time for its audience to connect with them. This robbed the film of the relatability it cried out for.
“Nine” clearly wasn’t created solely for the purpose of making a buck. It was well-written, well-designed, well-cast and well-acted. Particular groups of people would love it: Fellini fans, anyone obsessed with Italy, those interested in costume design and set design or even in the general dramatic arts.
“Nine” definitely wasn’t created for mass audiences, though, so groups just off the street hoping for a fun movie may wish they had saved their money.
“Nine” is rated PG-13 and is playing in theatres nationwide.
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