Nine has its flaws—it’s too long, it’s not enough either musical or straight movie, it lacks focus—but there’s something about this collection of performances that drew me in and, even after 2 hours and 20 minutes, had me begging for more. These individual performances are the heart of the film. Each woman in the star-studded cast has one, perhaps two, beautiful moments of song and dance before again fading again into the background of the plot. The one exception is Marion Cotillard’s Luisa Contini. Cotillard outshines the rest of the cast as Guido’s shunned wife, bringing a life to the character that none of the other actors manage.
As far as the musical numbers go, they certainly please. They may not quite feel right in the rest of the film, but individually they shine—quite literally in the case of Kate Hudson’s Cinema Italiano. The best number by far is Be Italian performed by Fergie (Stacy Ferguson) as Saraghina—the prostitute that taught young Guido about sex. Fergie demands attention with her stunning vocals and stage presence.
In short, if you don’t leave the theater in love with the film, at least you’ll leave craving more of Marshall’s killer song and dance routines.
