Big Ed's PlaceReview–the movie “Nine”
The movie Nine entranced me, even though I found the main character completely unsympathetic. Since it contained some sexy dance numbers and some musings on the creative process, I figured it was fair game for a review here.
Nine is based on Fellini’s 8 1/2, which I have not seen, and of course now wish to. The story follows a film director in the 60′s who cannot find the idea or the script for his new film, despite having made masterpieces in the past. Instead, his mind drifts to the women in his life, and those dreams form the basic for musical numbers. The women are are stunning list of A-actresses: Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard (all Oscar winners, along with Daniel Day-Lewis, the male lead), Kate Hudson, and Fergie. I personally didn’t find a weak performance in the bunch.
What surprised me on the positive side was the dance numbers. Almost all of the songs are forgettable, in the sense that I couldn’t hum them later if I tried. That would make them a failure by Broadway Musical standards, where the music is supposed to inspire you to buy the cast album, soundtrack, and other googahs that come from confusing an earworm with a good song. But I can easily conjure up the visuals. Nightclub women scantily dressed. Gypsies playing in the sand with tambourines. Peneleope Cruz running her hands over her bare thighs and hips. It’s a fire that reminds me of what sex is supposed to be, in this modern era of YouPorn.
Simultaneously, I found the main character just irritating. As he looked for insipration and drove himself crazy with not finding it, he lied and treated the women poorly. His wife said, “you’re just an appetite”, which nailed him dead on. Yes, he might be a genius, but that didn’t make his a decent man. I wanted to slap him and say, “why the fuck are you doing this?” both about how he treated his wife and mistress and about not buckling down and writing the damn script.
Which brings me to the musings about creativity and the creative process. The lead character in Nine is waiting for inspiration. He’s struggling and making himself mad because he wants it to be great. It’s not a grind, and it’s not a bunch of little steps to finding the story he wants to tell and the script. I know how that works, and how it can be grand, but I also think that sometimes great art comes from starting with a piece and letting the work unfold. Instead of meditating on what he was trying to say in a grand sense, he could have simply started with a character and seen where she took him.
Of course, that may be better done in 8 1/2, so some day I have to see it to be sure. In the meantime, I recommend Nine.
Nine can be found at Barnes and Noble.
