Cloud NINE

By now you likely know the basics about NINE (opens December 18 in NYC and Los Angeles; see our contest to win tickets to the NYC premiere), the movie musical based on the 1982 Broadway musical based on Federico Fellini's 1963 movie 8½: It's directed by dancer-turned-choreographer–turned-filmmaker Rob Marshall, who helmed 2003’s Chicago; six of the actors — Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, and Sophia Loren — can boast the title "Academy Award winner"; and there are three new numbers, including the kicky “Cinema Italiano,” featuring Kate Hudson in full on go-go-girl mode (not unlike mom Goldie Hawn in her Laugh-In days!).

As narcissistic filmmaker Guido Contini, a Casanova with a bad wandering eye and really bad writer’s block, Day-Lewis è eccellente; the My Left Foot and There Will Be Blood star sings, dances, and does a flawless Italian accent. As his mistress Carla, Cruz sings, dances, and performs seductive acrobatic acts while somehow staying contained in a barely-there corset. As his muse Claudia, Kidman — who's often shot in full frame or with her face in shadow (now why could that be?) — gets a sweet Anita Ekberg/La Dolce Vita fountain scene. Most impressive, however, is La Vie en Rose star Cotillard, who reveals a powerful voice — and knock-out striptease skills — as Guido’s long-suffering wife, Luisa.

Devotees of the Broadway show might miss excised songs like "Simple" and "Bells of St. Sebastian," but Marshall’s movie — with its gorgeous black-and-white sequences, runway-ready mod costumes, and postcard-perfect Roman vistas — is, more than anything else, a love letter to Italian cinema. Ah, now we get it…"Cinema Italiano"!


NINE opens December 18 in NYC and Los Angeles and December 25 nationwide from The Weinstein Company.