Rob Marshall

Rob Marshall debuted in the audiovisual industry with Annie , a TV movie that adapted the musical by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin . The tape told the story of a strong-willed girl who ran away from an orphanage to look for her parents. Despite the fact that it was not a great production, and that the script had gaps, the dances and music caught the attention of critics and the public. Rob, who had worked as a choreographer, already demonstrated in his debut that his virtues were closely linked to spectacle and theatricality.

Three years later, he premiered Chicago , another adaptation –this time for the cinema- of a stage musical. Here everything was much bigger than in his previous work. Renée Zellweger , Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere under her. The 20s, jazz, crime. The appearances, the entanglement, the lie. Could there be a better combination for a glitz-loving director? Everything was in the right place for Rob to turn the story of two imprisoned women into a hit musical. Dark humor, prison and courtroom drama, a young singer’s dream: all rolled into one. The film received 13 Oscar nominations, including one for Best Director. And it took 6, including the best film of the year.

After proving his ability to direct a major production, he was given the chance to tackle an even more ambitious job with Memoirs of a Geisha , which adapted a novel by Arthur Golden . This film was not a musical, but in it the soundtrack, the staging and the dancing were very important. Much of the charm of this work lies in its aesthetic aspect, which takes us to another world, to another culture. We couldn’t understand this love story without scenes as magnetic and refined as Sayuri’s dance: the setting speaks for itself.

Then came Nine , another musical in which Rob had the opportunity to direct an impressive cast: Daniel Day-Lewis , Marion Cotillard , Kate Hudson , Nicole Kidman , Penelope Cruz … The critics were mixed, but the film was nominated for four Oscars. . Two years later, Rob tackled the fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean , a saga that tried to recapture the level of his first installment. The result was irregular: visually powerful and impeccable, argumentatively mediocre. The director failed to remedy the flaws in a script lacking in spark and interest. The same thing happened in Into the Woods, an aesthetically powerful work, well narrated, but which loses interest by not providing a quality story.

Rob Marshall has established himself as a good director who perfectly masters the art of showmanship and staging. His productions always ensure great visual enjoyment, but the plot quality of these depends on the scripts in which he never participates. Thus, his filmography is presented as irregular and impressive at the same time: when he directs a good story he is at Oscar level, when not, his films remain a mere facade.