Nine

**1/2 Stars

What's frustrating about Rob Marsall's latest madness of a musical is how surprisingly detached it is from the magic of its main character. Daniel Day-Lewis is on fire as Guido Contini, a famous Italian filmmaker in desperate need of a hit after a string of flop, but Marsall chooses antics over storytelling, and the movie falls short of its potential greatness because of it. In terms of moviemaking, Nine is too well crafted to be called a bad film. When the film isn't singing, and Daniel Day is in charge, it's electric. When Broadway takes over, it's anything but. Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, and Kate Hudson are fantastic supporting players to Lewis, but the film's overall impact had me thinking: loved the players, not the game.