Nine

Nine can rightly be described as stylish. It’s positively saturated with style. That’s the good news. The bad news is that that's really all it's got. As a musical it’s not in the same league as Marshall's gilt-edged classic Chicago (2002). Based on a Broadway musical that debuted in the early 80s and was revived in 2003, with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Arthur Kopit, the songs are not as memorable or as brilliantly staged as Marshall's earlier film. In fact one cannot help but wonder what the original authors think of this adaptation for initially at least Marshall seems to be smothering the songs with high-stepping Chicago-like pizzaz that is at odds with the more reflective nature of the subject matter and some of the songs from the stage production have been dropped while others have been written specially for the film. Not having seen the stage show I have no point of comparison but the film feels very much designed around its star-studded cast rather than its virtues as a musical. As such despite its top drawer production values it is an oddly inconsequential affair.

Much of the pleasure of the film would be lost if one wasn’t familiar with Fellini’s 8 ½, an autobiographical story about a famous Italian director struggling to make his next movie in the face of massive media expectations but with no ideas and consequently ruminating on his life in a day-dream-like fashion . In that film Fellini had Marcello Mastroianni as his alter ego and here Daniel Day-Lewis is the Mastroianni figure who is playing Italian film director, Guido Contini, complete with Mastroianni’s black suit, white shirt and thin black tie (figuratively speaking, that is). But of course the film’s producers cannot assume such a film literate audience and so we have Kate Hudson's pumped up "Cinema Italiano" which was not in the original production, Penélope Cruz's pole-dancing gyrations and the Black-Eyed Pea’s Fergie as a rather bland (compared to the original) Saraghina. Judi Dench and Nicole Kidman also perform numbers (the 75 year old Sophia Loren, who frankly often looks like a bit of a fright, does not sing but she dances with Daniel Day-Lewis) but all the performances are more in the nature of a celebrity parade than anything that feels artistically warranted or even that interesting. Disappointingly Kidman gets to do very little but sing her song.

Marion Cotillard, who won an Oscar in 2007 for her portrayal of Piaf, is the only one of the women who truly is at home, both dramatically and vocally, making for a touching Giulietta Masina-like figure. Her performance of "Take It All", which as Contini’s long suffering wife she addresses to her philandering husband, is emotionally effective and, unlike so many of the numbers, fits perfectly with the narrative. Fans of Daniel Day-Lewis will be well pleased as Dion Beebe’s camera laps up his aquiline profile, his loosely tousled raven locks and melancholy demeanour broken periodically by his irresistibly creased smile. And of course being the fine actor he is his performance is never less than compelling. Although, unlike him, Judi Dench doesn’t essay an Italian accent, she also provides some dramatic substance as Contini’s wardrobe mistress and confidante.

Nine is not going to make it to the Pantheon of film musicals but it is unquestionably entertaining and well-worth the price of a ticket. Just don't expect to remember much once the credits have rolled.

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