NINE review

Lucky little me got to see five times Golden Globe nominated movie NINE on Wednesday with thanks to Kate Bowe PR. The five nominations are for Best Actor (Daniel Day Lewis), Best Actress (Marion Cotillard), Best Supporting Actress (Penelope Cruz), Best Song (Cinema Italiano, featured in the trailer below) and finally, Best Picture of the Year.

Guido “Maestro” Contini is film director extraordinare in Italy in 1965. He is about to embark on his ninth film and although his early films were huge hits that became a fabric of Italian and Roman society, his more recent films have been flops.

NINE follows the madness and hype that surrounds “Maestro” Contini and his newest film, Italia, which is about to start shooting. He is followed by the paparazzi everywhere and he lives in a world of his own a lot, removed from reality. As he tries his best to derive inspiration from some source, any source, we are treated to magnificent musical numbers in his head starring a cast of beautiful women from his life. They all have something to contribute from Sophia Loren playing his dead Mamma and personal guide of sorts, to Lilli (Judi Dench) his old friend, confidante and fashion director on his films, Luisa his wife, played by the beautiful Marion Cotillard, leading lady of his films Claudia Jennsen (Nicole Kidman), his married mistress Carla, played to perfection by Penélope Cruz, Stephanie the American journalist from Vogue (Kate Hudson) and a lady from his distant past, Saraghina, played by Stacy Ferguson (Fergie of Black Eyed Peas).

Guido’s struggles in his private life are being mirrored by his struggle to write and make a movie he has no idea how to make. He is under pressure to pull something out of the bag and to start filming in ten days…seven days…five days…two days. The ever increasing pressure leads to problems in his marriage or vice versa.

Though I’d rather not compare it to either, NINE falls into the vast distance that there is between the charming and romantic Moulin Rouge, and the sassy, sexy Chicago. The music leans more towards Chicago but the story line for the most part is centred around love, albeit broken and unappreciated and painful love. Like the wonderful Moulin Rouge. Without the romance. With an edge. And with plenty of sex appeal.

As a Cardinal tells Contini at one point “Your imagination has no moral training”. And hurrah for that

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Daniel Day Lewis won the Golden Globe for Best Actor or PenelopeCruz for Best Supporting Actress, both of them are wonderful in this, as is Marion Cotillard, also nominated for Best Actress. I’ll be watching closely for the announcements of winners on 17 January 2010.

NINE will open in cinemas from 26 December 2009.

All images are thanks to Image.net