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Daniel Day-Lewis pulls out all the stops as an Italian movie director dealing with writer’s block in the musical “Nine.” |
Rob Marshall’s “Nine” is the kind of movie musical to be appreciated for its showstopper production numbers, its impressive roster of stars who can almost sing and dance superbly, and its racy and raw sexuality barely constrained by a PG-13 rating.
But its inaccessible main character, uninsightful lyrics and thin story?
Closer to a “Five.”
Even with Fergie’s heaving chest undulating to the beat of “Be Italian,” “Nine” has a tough time spinning a gripping story around something as nebulous as writer’s block.
Granted, this writer is Italy’s supreme filmmaker, Guido Contini, played by British actor Daniel Day-Lewis. After two massive flops during the 1960s, he’s about to shoot his next, eagerly anticipated motion picture.
But he has no script. No ideas, either.
The international press hounds him with stupid questions.
His producer freaks out as the clock ticks down to the start of shooting.
So, the chain-smoking Guido sits down in the darkness of the huge soundstage at Rome’s Cinecitta Film Studios and unbridles his imagination, and like Marshall’s Oscar-winning best picture musical “Chicago,” his memories come to life in music and spectacle, featuring the women in his life. (Read more…)