Nine [M]

Guido Contini, world famous director and magnificent writer, reaches a creative and personal crisis as he desperately struggles to come up with a script for his new film and balance numerous women in his life. 

Not so dissimilar to the glamorous and dazzling display that was Chicago, Nine is a wonderfully sensual and beautiful musical filled with women, breakdowns, lust, passion, desire, betrayal, and women. It’s an amazing and breathtaking achievement on screen. 

Guido Contini, world famous director and magnificent writer, reaches a creative and personal crisis as he desperately struggles to come up with a script for his new film and balance numerous women in his life. Unable to breath, sleep, or eat, Guido becomes engulfed in an obsession, one that makes him blind towards the effect he has on the women that surround and love him. Will Guido emerge from this downward spiral or will he sink all the way to the bottom? 

It first must be said that the costumes featured in this movie were so sexy. This film epitomised glamour and razzle-dazzle and watching all these different actresses parade around in these wonderfully reflective and sensual costumes was really mesmerising. 

Another thing about the film that I found really lovely and effective was the way that frames filmed in black and white conveyed the childhood memories of the central character: Guido Contini, and the way that these frames seamlessly changed into colour to represent the present. Mainly used in the more emotive musical numbers, although these scenes hurriedly changed from past to present, they changed without being jagged and interrupting the musical sequence. Every transition was smooth and just beautiful. 

Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Guido Contini and he was positively mesmerising. Even though he plays a man who loves many women and who causes these women some pain, you cannot feel any harsh feelings towards him. You cannot help but pity and love him. He delivered a performance that was incredibly enchanting, humorous, charming, and genuinely witty. I loved him from start to finish. 

Simply all the women in this movie were wonderful and enchanting in their own way: Marion Cotillard who plays Luisa Contini was beautifully melancholy and wowed me with her versatile voice. Penelope Cruz who plays Carla, Guido’s mistress, was sensual and playful, but at the same time very sincere and eager to be loved. Kate Hudson was vivacious and can sing! Nicole Kidman was glamorous and completely enchanting. Judi Dench provided much of the comic relief and she was just to wonderfully old-fashioned and theatrical. Fergie was steaming and incredibly sexy, and Sophia Loren was gorgeously upstanding and glamorous. Without a doubt, every woman was sexy in this film. 

Filled with songs, glamour, razzle-dazzle, lust, passion, desire, and suffering, Nine was a beautifully crafted musical that did not manage to reach the height of Chicago, but came pretty damn close!