Nine

“Nine” is the Weinstein Company’s attempt to bring to the screen the Tony award winning musical that appeared on Broadway. It does not succeed. Based loosely on the persona of Federico Fellini (and Marcello Mastroianni) and the film “8 and ½ “, Daniel Day-Lewis stars in this saga of an Italian film director who transgresses throughout the film with the likes of women played by Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Stacy Ferguson (“Fergie”), Sophia Loren and Marion Cotillard (“La Vie En Rose”). With the exception of Mlle. Cotillard, who plays Mr. Lewis’ wife, each of the other women listed participate in the film by singing a song in an extravagantly staged setting with most of the music extraneous to the film. “Nine” as a musical doesn’t survive because none of the songs are either tuneful or catchy. No worry about humming any of them after the show. You won’t. It certainly doesn’t succeed as a drama because there is no structure or firm direction. Watching this film, I kept waiting for each star to do his or her number so we could move on and end the movie’s duration. Even when the time came for each number to be sung, I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Also, in the climate of today’s headlines and morality, and especially watching major sport stars fall to the wayside as their infidelities are revealed, it’s hard to muster up sympathy and compassion for Mr. Lewis’ character as he juggles his life and loves like a circus performer in the center ring. Written by Michael Tolkin and the late Anthony Minghella, and directed by Rob Marshall (“Chicago”), the film offers nothing more than a showcase for the singing and dancing talents of some very glamorous ladies and, in my opinion, earns it 2 and ½ stars based solely on the serious and strong performance of Mr. Lewis and the very sensitive and beautiful portrayal of a dutiful but unappreciated spouse played by Marion Cotillard.