day 2.46

i give nine a 1

if you're interested in seeing nine, i don't advise it (unless you're trying to knock out entertainment weekly's 25 movies to see before the oscars list). a movie adaptation of the broadway musical of the same name, somehow gets lost in translation - in more ways than one. the musical itself was adapted from the italian film 8 1/2. in an attempt to recreate what is presumably the feel of the italian film, director rob marshall (who succeeded in bringing chicago to the big screen) get too bogged down in the intricacies of the film work that the movie itself lacks plot or character development. focused around 1960s italian director guido contini, played by daniel day lewis, the film is almost two hours of mess. lewis - along with costars judi dench, nicole kidman and penelope cruz - seems to be too focused on creating a character that has no depth than actually playing the part. the same four actors also have issues picking accents. dench's character, supposedly a parisian costumer, starts out with an italian accent, then a french one and ends the film with her normal british accent. in movies where fantasy is an integral part of the film itself, i don't understand why actors are forced (or choose) to try on a heavy accent on top of the one they already possess. just speak normally and we'll play along like you're all italian. ironically, sophia loren - the only real italian in the movie - speaks english the best out of those amongst her fellow actors doing an affectation of an accent. the acting in the film, aside from this picky bit, is exceptional. it's the lack of story or character development that leave you scratching your head and asking, "did i just see an art film?" the best moment in the film - kate hudson's performance of "cinema italiana," previewed in the trailer above - is the shortest musical performance and was written exclusively for the film. knowing "cinema italiana" doesn't appear in the original stage musical makes me even more weary of seeing it should it appear at a theater near me anytime soon. aside from the other show-stopping number - fergie as a hooker singing "be italian" - the music is relatively bland and does nothing to move the film along. mostly, the songs are extensions of random lines of dialogue that you wouldn't expect to have importance. dench's number is all about a certain costume that may or may not be used in guido's latest movie. marion cotillard, as guido's jaded wife, does the best acting job but gets saddled with two of the most head-ache inducing songs. penelope cruz's (guido's mistress) "a call from the vatican" is pretty much a burlesque performance. the one thing i found amazing was that cruz had virtually no accent while singing. i'd say someone puts on her spanish accent a little thick if she can sing in perfect english. kidman's song - which i can barely recall - is fine, but her part is so small. you'd expect the main character's muse to have a big role, but kidman doesn't speak a word of dialogue until the film's last 45 minutes. it's amazing she even got paid for the role as it was little more than a glorified extra position. all in all, skip nine and just listen to the soundtrack if you want a feel for the flick - it's (sadly) the best part.