Nine-A Sublimal Broadway Movie  

One of the more recent Broadway musicals to come to the big screen, Nine tells the story of Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis), a world famous film director in a mid-term crisis with both creative and personal problems. He must balance the many women of his life. (Believe me, its a who's who from all ages), They include a fabulous cast of his wife Marion Cotillard as his wife, Luisa, Penelope Cruz as his mistress , Nicole Kidman as his film star muse , Judi Dench, his confidant and costume designer, Kate Hudsonan American fashion journalist, Fergie as the w.h.o.r.e from his youth and Sophia Loren, his mother .

Melodramatic and oftentimes dark, it documents the crises that Guido went through to come to terms with his love and his life.His song that he needed another 'himself' to take care of all the conflicting interests in his life is extremely poignant.

This film is Rob Marshall's latest foray into the world of Hollywood and perhaps his best to date. Based on the Fellini film 8 1/2 (which describes the number of films Guido has directed to date... he co-directed one for the 1/2),this version simply is magical transforming reality into fantasy.

Marshall gives you wonderful choreography and the musical numbers are so magical. Weaving the singing and dancing seamlessly is his forte here. His treatment of using black and white versus color and back again are well conceived and executed tastefully. He credited the movie to the late Anthony Minghella,who died in a hospital after vetting the script.

One great musical movie, I have seen in a long while since Moulin Rouge.


Pity, it got no Awards from the Academy yesterday.