Nine

Cast & Crew

Daniel Day-Lewis

Guido Contini

Marion Cotillard

Luisa Contini

Penélope Cruz

Carla Albanese

Judi Dench

Lilli

Fergie

Saraghina

Kate Hudson

Stephanie

Nicole Kidman

Claudia

Sophia Loren

Mamma

Ricky Tognazzi

Dante

Giuseppe Cederna

Fausto

Valerio Mastandrea

De Rossi

Elio Germano

Pierpaolo

Martina Stella

Donatella

Roberto Nobile

Jaconelli

Remo Remotti

Cardinal

Roberto Citran

Dr. Rondi

Rob Marshall

Director

Michael Tolkin

Screenwriter

Anthony Minghella

Screenwriter

John DeLuca

Producer

Marc Platt

Producer

Harvey Weinstein

Producer

Rob Marshall

Producer

Ryan Kavanaugh

Executive Producer

Tucker Tooley

Executive Producer

Bob Weinstein

Executive Producer

Kelly Carmichael

Executive Producer

Michael Dreyer

Executive Producer

Maury Yeston

Original Songs

Andrea Guerra

Original Music

Dion Beebe

Cinematographer

Claire Simpson

Film Editing

Wyatt Smith

Film Editing

John Myhre

Production Design

Phil Harvey

Art Director

Tomas Voth

Art Director

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Critic Reviews for Nine

Audience Reviews for Nine

• May 02, 2012

  Daniel Gay-Lewis. No, I think that the great Mr. Gay-Le-I mean, Day-Lewis just did this fluff piece because he just can't enough of them Oscars and thought that Rob Marshall's next musical after "Chicago" would have been a shoe-in, seeing as how, back in 2002, he was in a Martin Scorsese-directed, post-Emancipation Proclamation period piece epic, and yet, the Oscar still went to the fluffy musical, instead of the film that really deserved it: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". As for Penélope Cruz, she's probably in this because, back in 2001, she got three Razzie nominations, and one year later, they gave Best Supporting Actress to Catherine Zeta-Jones for doing "absolutely nothing at all", as well as nominations to John C. Reilly and Queen Latifah for doing less, so she was probably hoping that being in Rob Marshall's next musical would at least get her a nomination. Well, it would appear as though she was certainly more correct in her judgement then Day-Lewis was in his, because although this film didn't come close to being one of the 24 or so Best Picture nominees at the Oscars for 2009, they shamelessly gave Cruz a nod for, well, actually doing quite a bit more than expected, though not quite enough for her to really earn that nomination; but hey, what can you expect from the ceremony in which they gave Best Actress to Sandra Bullock for "The Blind Side"? Man, even when they were awarding what might very well have been the best year in film in recent memory, the Oscars still had to make one uncredible mistake after another. Well, needless to say, this film certainly wasn't among that massive haul of upstanding films in 2009, yet it still has its moments. Still, for every moment in which this film sizzles, it hits quite the deal of points where it simply fizzles. I'm not saying that they should spread this puppy into a sweeping, powerful epic about a filmmaker procrastinating while he deals with writer's block, but come on Rob Marshall, loosen it up a little bit. The storytelling is tight to the point of feeling exhaustingly over organic in its progression, and when the film does finally break for a moment as it makes its transition, you're so used to the story following an ever-running stream that the handful of moments of relief feel rather jarring to the point of sometimes being emotionally convoluted. Still, the storytelling doesn't quite feel as overly convenient or as forced as the musical numbers, which are sometimes dropped in so suddenly and forcibly in such an offputting fashion, leaving a handful musical numbers to immediately lose a bit of steam, as well as a couple to never regain that steam, for a deal of the musical numbers lack dynamicity, and fall short on oomph and consistent entertainment value to where they are - dare I say it - a little bit dull. The film isn't overwhelmingly shoddy, though it is quite messy, and all of that messiness only intensifies the film's biggest flaw: Emotional distance. Sure, in all honesty, the film has its points - particularly during the latter acts and a pretty sharply graceful ending - where it does hit pretty quite hard, but on the whole, the film just does't have a real flashy spark to it, leaving you to sometimes sink in your seat, check the clock and simply fall out of the film, and while those moments are far and few between, there's enough of them for the film to fall a bit flat on delivering an impression on the audience. Still, although the film loses you here and there, it's hard to not find yourself coming back for more. The film may not deliver as well as it should, let alone as well as "Chicago" did, yet it's still kept going by more than enough value, particularly style value. Rob Marshall's fine taste in production may not be as elaborate as it was in "Chicago", yet he and his art directors still boast a lively eye for recreating 1960s Italy in a subtle, yet effective fashion that really adds to the dazzle of the film, especially in the wake of Dion Beebe's lovely cinematography. It's debatable whether or not Beebe has outdone his work with "Chicago", yet his beautiful eye for photography for this film is, at worst, on par with his eye for "Chicago", bursting with handsomely saturated, yet very bouncy colors and moments of lighting that really catch your eye, particularly during the musical numbers. Sure, as I said, some numbers fall flat, with few numbers coming close to the quality of most productions from "Chicago", but when the tunes do pick up, it's hard for you to not lift up too, in awe at the sweeping, lively musicality, complimented by dazzling production to make the numbers as much a feast for the eyes as a feast for the ears. A fall-flat number can be among the lowest notes in the film, while a really winning one can be among the highest, yet what really grips you the most, or at least as much as it can, is the story. Sure, the substance isn't terribly enthralling, due to such unfortunate emotional distance, yet, if nothing else, the story charms in its very nostalgiac feel for the lively, yet sometimes rocky world of the Italian entertainment industry, circa 1960s. Marshall captures the era with charm and grace, though not quite as sharply as his performers in this star-studded cast of charmers, from the delightful Judi Dench to the lovely Marion Cotillard, charismatic (Though certainly not Oscar nod worthy) Penélope Cruz and Nicole Kidman, as well as, well, Kate Hudson and Fergie, both of whom come and go, and I would say thankfully so (Ha-ha, I made a big-time rhyme; and I just did so again), yet those two typical disasters of entertainers, for the brief moments that they're on, do wake you up a bit, especially considering that they deliver two of the best musical performances of the film. Still, the real owner of the show is the always winning Daniel Day-Lewis, who is certainly not even coming close to delivering a truly impressive performance, or at least not until the latter acts, yet still really nails the charisma, sleaze, cleverness, anguish and, of course, the accent of your usual case of the classic Italian artist whose just not hitting as hard as he used to, and while the film doesn't always deliver on engagement value, if no one sustains your attention, then it's our charismatic lead. At the end of the show, it's difficult to keep a good grip on the memory of the experience, as its oomph goes tainted by spotty storytelling, as well as forced and sometimes underwhelming musical numbers that help in distancing the emotional resonance, yet not to where you can't be won back by the dazzling production and handsome cinematography that compliment the worthwhile musical numbers - which decidedly outweigh the underwhelming -, as well as across-the-board charming performances, headed by the predictably charismatic Daniel Day-Lewis, who helps in making "Nine" an ultimately quite entertaining show, even with its many trips along the stage. 2.5/5 - Fair

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  cameron j Super Reviewer
• Mar 18, 2012

  Sexy and sleek, Nine is a lot of fun. The songs are great, and the visual flare produced by Rob Marshall is unique. I haven't seen many musicals but this one is made with care and style. Some of the performances are fiery and electrifying like Penelope Cruz's A Call From the Vatican and Kate Hudson's Cinema Italiano. The best songs are definitely Fergie's Be Italian and Cinema Italiano. Daniel Day-Lewis has had better performances, as he's not entirely convincing as a true Italian. A good performance makes you forget that the actor is an actor, that the actor is American or English or whatever they may be. But here, seeing Lewis speak with an Italian accent doesn't make you forget the fact that he is English. In Gangs of New York, his performance as a New Yorker made you completely ignore his native tongue. I guess his character could have been better cast, perhaps someone with true Italian blood. The reason I'm not giving Nine a 9/10 is because besides the good singing and sexiness, there isn't much it has going for it. The story isn't well thought out, and the leading actor could have been better. But I still really enjoyed Nine. The sexiness of the actresses and the setting of Italy is simply irresistible.

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  Super Reviewer
• Oct 14, 2011

  Sometimes you need to weigh up your options. Either you go by the director (who happens to have made one of the worst and most overrated films ever with "Chicago") or you go by the actor (who has delivered consistantly memorable performances in his career with "My Left Foot", "Gangs of New York" and "There Will Be Blood"). In this case I went with the actor but that still didn't save a poor director, poorly plying his trade. 1960s Italy. Once-celebrated film director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) struggles with his unwritten script for his comeback film. Looking for inspiration, he turns to his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his wife (Marion Cotillard), his muse (Nicole Kidman), his confidante (Judi Dench) and his childhood memories to solve his crisis, with unsuccessful yet well-sung results. I really wanted to like this film as I'm a big fan of Daniel Day-Lewis and the impressive cast of females has rarely, if ever, been bettered. However, I'm not big on musicals or director Rob Marshall for that matter. Thankfully, this is not quite as bad as Marshall's overrated stinker "Chicago", but it isn't much better either. Day-Lewis was my main reason for attempting this and considering he's quite fastidious in his choices, I thought I'd follow his lead on this one. I was wrong and so was he in choosing this meandering borefest. The look of the film is gorgeous, as expected, with fabulous production design and cinematography and the ladies (oh the ladies) look amazing and deliver their song and dance numbers competently. Having Judi Dench in a corset was just a tad too much for my liking though. It was around this point in the movie that I realised this thinly veiled attempt at recreating a muscial of Frederico Fellini's "8 1/2" was a great waste of talent. A lush and extravagant musical that has style in abundance. Substance is what it lacks though, leaving a great cast struggling to save it from tedium. Suited to fans of the genre only.

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  Super Reviewer
• Sep 27, 2011

  A film with fiery passion, an amazing cast of top-talent actresses and the always impressive Daniel Day-Lewis, led by the creative director of "Chicago", Rob Marshall. This is the makings of a great landmark film, however where it falls is the subject matter and the execution of it. The musical Nine is a musical send-up and adaptation of Federico Fellini's amazing film, "8 1/2". Now, I can see where Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Anthony Minghella wanted to take the screenplay, however, his efforts are refuted by the very fact that the Arthur Kopit/Maury Yeston musical is a poor adaptation of Fellini's film, which was closley autobiographical and personal, where the musical and subsequent film are distant and at times even cold where the original film was very real and very emotional because, in its own way, connects more with the reality of the world around the characters, the personal crises, and the utter flawless direction. This film is disjointed in ways that even those not watching the original could still be confused by. The songs were very well sung, very well shot and very well edited, but besides Fergie's "Be Itialian", Kate Hudson's "Cinema Italiano", and Marion Cotillard's "Take It All", they were all tragically forgettable. A decidedly good effort, and by itself, it is a bit too chaotic and not nearly as bold as the film it is homaging and based on.

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  Super Reviewer