Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench
Director: Rob Marshall
Despite my misgivings about musicals, I kind of wanted to see this. It has quite the cast and Rob Marshall directed Chicago, which I enjoyed and the music seemed pretty good. Well, this movie is not great, but I wouldn't say I'd like my two hours back, either. There's some great set pieces and musical numbers that seem to overshadow the rest of the movie.
Daniel Day-Lewis plays Contini, a great Italian director in the 1960s who is having a dry spell in his creativity. He's poised to make an ambitious movie about Italy and I couldn't help but think of Baz Luhrmann and his financial bomb that was Australia (a movie which I actually loved). And it's at this juncture he consults all the women in his life to find support: his wife, his mistress, his dead mother, his agent, a infatuated reporter and his first lover. Contini is nothing but a selfish, egotistical womanizer for the most part and that's pretty much all I got out of the movie. There's really nothing important about the characters - I really didn't feel for Contini or his struggle. The movie is more about the music and the lavish designs and costumes. No doubt they're great, but without any substance behind them, they're just lavish scenes.
The cast was great and I thought the movie had potential, but it's just one big spectacle without any emphasis on character. As I watched I was just waiting for the next musical number to happen to see if I would like it. And for the most part, I like the music and dance numbers. But that's not enough for me to recommend this one.
Rating: Not Worth Paying For!
No comments:
Post a Comment