Preview: Nine (2009)

Synopsis:

An Italian film director struggles to find harmony between himself and the seven prominent women in his life in this Broadway Musical adaptation of Federico Fellini's masterpiece 8 ½.

• Poster: B

Review:

Attempting to evoke the black-and-white style of the original feature, this poster is pretty to look at, but ultimately facile.

• Trailer: A-; A-

Review:

With an Oscar-studded cast (6 Oscar winners), this film is sure to be quite interesting. The trailer, which plays the song "Be Italian" to clips from the production number and from the rest of the film, looks to be as visually stunning and interesting as Rob Marshall's previous musical adaptation Chicago.

Please note that the first trailer I reviewed, which was basically a musical piece from the film, is no longer available for viewing. Instead, this second trailer is in its place. It gives us more information about the film, shows significantly more of the cast, but doesn't go into much detail about the plot. It's still a trailer that will draw quick attention even if the film doesn't please the kind of audience that made Chicago a success.

Oscar Prospects:

From the looks of the trailer, the pedigree of the cast and crew, I am going to predict a slew of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, Cinematography, Makeup and Sound Mixing. Plus, I would not be at all surprised to see at least 4 of the cast members nominated, including Daniel Day-Lewis for Actor, and any one of these actresses nominated in Lead or Supporting Actress: Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson or Sophia Loren (sorry, Stacy Ferguson, actual musical artists don't tend to get Oscar nominations even when they're deserved).

Release Date:

• December 18, 2009

Full Review Synopsis:

An uneven arrangement of musical numbers surrounding a stage-to-screen adaptation that was a screen-to-stage adaptation in the first place.

• Full Review: Nine

-Wesley Lovell (May 17, 2009) Original

-Wesley Lovell (October 25, 2009) New Release Date (changed from 11/25/09)

-Wesley Lovell (December 6, 2009) New Trailer

-Wesley Lovell (January 10, 2010) New Poster

-Wesley Lovell (April 4, 2010) Added Review Link