2009. Dir: Rob Marshall. Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench and Nicole Kidman. ●●●●○
The question I asked myself as I walked into the cinema this week was: Is Rob Marshall the saviour of musical cinema or it's destroyer. I left the cinema with the same question. I simply do not know. I deeply suspect that he is neither, and in the fullness of time he will remian merely a footnote in the history of movies. That is not to say that Nine is a bad movie, it is very enjoyable, but also strangely forgettable.
Before I go any further on this review, I'd like to point out the excellent review by TomS over on his blog. I'd advise going there if you want a slightly more positive spin on what I'm about to say.
Nine is a film adapatation of the stage musical based on Fellini's 8 ½, which is in itself essentially a rumination on writer's block within the film industry, with the lead protagonist a thinly veiled version of Fellini. Nine then follows the story of an egotistical, womanising director - Guido Contini (Day-Lewis) - struggling to create his latest masterpiece even though production is set to begin and the marketing is in full throttle.
Contini distracts himself by talking to and imagining the women in his life, and in each of whom he equates to a particular song and dance style, and so we are able to include the element of music added to the stage without arousing suspicion that it's a musical - it's all in his head. A heady reminder of the artifice of cinema and the strains of the creative process. You may remember Rob Marshall used this technique in Chicago, there it seemed original and clever, here it seems like he's stolen it from himself.
Daniel Day-Lewis does his best in the lead role, hunching his neck forward like a vulture seeking out new prey (or women), but there's little in his demeanor to indicate why women flock to him. Maybe they're awed by his talent, but as he doesn't appear to be "nice" to any of them I can't see why they'd stay around. Saying that Day-Lewis is better at the comedy than I'd suspect - he skulks around the spa furtively hiding from people like a seasoned farceur.
Of the ladies the stand-out is Marion Cotillard (she came first in my supporting actress of the year awards), as I said there she effectively gives us the impression that her love for her husband Guido is balanced by her realisation that that may not be enough. She also performs both her songs with dignity and passion.
The singing performance can only be surpassed by Fergie as the under-written Seraghina, the whore Contini remembers as a child. She has the best song (Be Italian - it was used in the trailer) and really knows how to sing to the back row, the Fosse inspired choroegraphy is also a great additoon to the song.
Some of the other ladies do not do so well - Sophia Loren was distinctly underwhelming and I was also disappointed by Penelope Cruz's mugging. Part of the fault of this is because Nine is just not that good a musical. We want either songs we can repeat the refrain endlessly or to at least be able to spot the beauty of the music outside of it's setting. Nine largely fails at both of these.
The production values also seemed inconsistent. I liked the dancing, but wished the camera would look at it more - Marshall hasn't learnt that editing is crucial to getting the audience to understand the "story" of the dance. The evocation of 1960s Italy was superb until Nicole Kidman's movie star glared at me from a film poster, her face seemingly painted by a different artist from the rest of her body. I will admit the opening and closing scenes were excellently staged and performed, as a introduction and effectively a bow from all the women and their imagined choruses.
As I said at the beginning of the review my overall impression was that I enjoyed the film, but I will soon forget it.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Nine
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
There Will Be Blood
2007. Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds, Kevin J O'Connor and Dillon Freasier ●●●●●
With no sign of Everlasting Moments at cinemas in Birmingham I randomly chose PT Anderson's There Will Be Blood to review. It seems incredibly now, just 18 months later, that this film and No Country for Old Men became locked in a titanic battle for the 2007 Best Picture Oscar. In the end the Coen film took the prize, but in my opinion, the better film missed out.
The film, very loosely based on Upton Sinclair's Oil, concerns the decay of the soul of Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis), an oilman whose avarice overtakes all his other thoughts. The story follows him from mining silver alone to ending his life alone and bitter in his mansion via the adoption of a son of a deceased worker and a major struggle with a small church and it's charismatic preacher (Dano).
Of course a film which revolves around a single character requires a solid performance, which Day-Lewis delivers in spades. It's absolutely electrifying, you just can't keep your eyes off him. Every line is said with such vigour and certainty it's as if it's a documentary. Towards the end there is a tendency to waver on the line of cartoonish caricature, but thankfully Day-Lewis never crosses it.
Dano is effective as the young man of God, especially in the two key scenes he shares with Day-Lewis (the baptism and the bowling alley), but in his quieter moments he looks a little lost (the blessing of the new mine). Dillon Freasier and Russell Harvard both do fine work as the yound and adult versions of H.W. Plainview, Daniel's adopted son, I hope to see both of them build on these performances in the future, although there's nothing so far.
The cinematography by Robert Elswitt is excellent, the way natural light plays across the characters in different ways, the sun streaming through the church windows, the framing of the oilmen is beautiful and often moving. I was also struck by the movement of the camera, Anderson and Elswitt almost never let it be still, especially in the mid-shots when it often pans forward and back moving you towards or away from the action. It's a technique that often goes with the multi-character films Anderson made his name with but here it's equally effective.
Finally the score is beautiful, Johnny Greenwood's (adiohead) original pieces are compelling and the use of Brahms is overpowering.
This film is a masterpiece, if you haven't already seen it I urge you to rectify that as soon as possible.
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Daniel Day-Lewis
Happy Birthday to
Daniel Day-Lewis
52 today
It's truly an honour to say happy birthday to this titan of the art. Absolutely breathtaking in everything he does, coming up is the 8 1/2 musical, Nine and working with Scorcese again on the Francisan monks in Japan drama Silence. If nothing else I bet both will have fantastic soundtracks.
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
Gandhi
1982. Dir: Richard Attenborough. Starring: Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Giegud and Trevor Howard. ●●●●○
Gandhi was the first of my two biopics this weekend. By curious coincidence just this week Richard Attenborough has been admitting that he robbed ET for the 1982 Best picture Oscar. Whilst it's refreshing to hear this view from the victor it must be remembered that Gandhi is a superb picture, even if it was overpraised at the time.
The film is bookended by the assassination and funeral for Gandhi, so for those people watching the film with little knowledge of the Mahatma that sight of tens of thousands of extras lining the streets for the funeral gives some idea of the popularity of the man.
We then flashback to Gandhi in South Africa, a fresh faced Cambridge scholared lawyer seemingly seeing institutionalised racism for the first time in his life. Seemingly from this incident Gandhi launches a campign to bring equal rights to Indian migrants.
Then following sucesses in South Africa (and not without adversity) Gandhi returns to India where he gives moral authority and significant influence to the Congress Parties campaign for home rule. His policy of passive resistance (by not complying with unjust laws however by not resorting to violence) as well as his scholarly attitude makes him enemies with the authorities as well as within the Congress party itself.
It is clear that Attenborough has a profound respect for Gandhi. Every scene confirms the qualities the Mahatma had, his profound beliefs in equality, his humility and his unqenchable thrist for peace. The film comes across as a beautiful portrait of this great man.
We must seperate the film from the subject, though. I think we can all agree that the Mahatma changed the world and showed us a new, better way to struggle against oppression, what we cannot agree on is that this sort of hero worship makes good entertainment.
Ben Kingsley does a fine job of protraying Gandhi, but there is little conflict within the character - he has little to do other than become more and more saintly. Indeed it's only in the first third of the movie, in South Africa, that Ben's performance is worthwhile. As he progresses from a shy public speaker to a man capable of starting a revolution you can see changes in every scene.
Rohini Hattangadi gives a far more measured performance as Kasturba Gandhi, showing the pride, devotion and frustration that she feels for her husband.
Most of the rest of the cast simply drift in and out of the action with one note performances, including a veritable who's who of British talent, although Roshan Seth is superb as Nehru. The low point of this parade is Alyque Padamsee as Jinnah; I don't know whether to blame him of Attenborough but the founder of Pakistan comes across like a silent movie villain - stiff and unbending in both his manner and his dealing with other characters. I kept expecting him to twirl the corner of his moustache and let out a pantomime laugh.
The technical side of this production is faultless. There isn't a still in the 3 hour running time that is less than perfectly composed, thanks to wardrobe and et teams. The cinematography by Ronnie Taylor and Billy Williams is suitably epic in a manner that befits the subject.
Overall this is a brave attempt to portray one of the greatest men who ever lived, but it's obvious respect for it's subject neuters the final product.
