Wendy's Films of 2010 #14: Nine (2009)

First, I must say that I wanted to include about half a dozen pictures here since the visual aspects of the film are more flattering than the content, but two will have to suffice.
Judi Dench is a goddess, much like Meryl Streep. She's powerful, magnificent and full of awesome, and if it weren't for her, Penélope Cruz and Marion Cotillard, this movie would probably not even grasp at potential. As a whole, it's a jumbled mess, with songs that are pointless displays of "Ooo, look at me!" And I'm not surprised in the least. People kept telling me, left and right, how bad it was. And in a way, I'm glad I didn't listen. It was fun, visually stunning and had its moments of "Man, if only the whole movie had just done that." Take Cruz's introduction, she was clearly having fun doing it, which made it just as much fun to watch. The cast was almost amazing, with a few exceptions (Nicole Kidman, Fergie and Sophia Loren) and it made me sad to think that it could have been wonderful if someone had only cared enough. Holes in the script were evident and songs felt pointless at times; nearing the end of our screening the projector failed, and as the film began to play again it was clear what was going on in the story. I started to narrate aloud since the sound wasn't quite working yet and said, "I just can't do it anymore!" in an attempt to reflect the distraught Guido Contini's words. And just as I said "anymore" in a mocking dramatic tone, the exact same word came pumping out the theatre speakers: I had chosen the same phrase as Guido himself. This is simply a testament to the quality of the film as a whole. It's supposed to be overly dramatic, but I would have preferred at least a bit of something unexpected.

Mike the Boss - Films of 2010 - Film the Sixth: Notes on a Scandal

(Dame Judi gets ready to kick some albino ass in Notes on a Scandal)

Notes on a Scandal (2006) (dir: Richard Eyre)

One of my pet peeves in cinema is over narration. It tends to be used by incompetent story tellers to advise the audience of what is happening in the film rather than usual character dialogue and visual imagery. It is a cop out and an insult to the viewer. Having said that, I do believe narration can serve a purpose if it has context within the film and that is the case in Notes on a Scandal which uses the pretext of Judi Dench reading from her diary to advance the story throughout the film. It works, but I still wish that it had been used a little less as much of the narrating is not needed.

This film was filled with Oscar nominated acting performances as Cate Blanchett and Dame Judi tear up the screen with a great bit of histrionics. The basic plot is this: Blanchett plays an art teacher who has 2 kids at home (one with Down's Syndrome), is married to an older man (Bill Nighy, who is also excellent) and feels unfilled for no real good reason at all. So she decides to bang a 15 year old student at her school. Dench, who is a crazy cat lady living on her own and is the school's resident battleaxe, finds out and uses this knowledge to worm her way into Blanchett's life. As we come to realize that both characters are completely self-delusional the chaos, mayhem and melodrama gets cranked up to a fever pitch.

The acting is top notch and Blanchett looks gorgeous in the film. The story and character motivations left me a little dry and I did have problems with the giggles during what surely were supposed to be the most dramatic of the scenes but that may be my failing. Folks looking for their usual Britflick fix will do well with this film as they likely have a greater tolerance for this kind of thing.