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Moulin Rouge!

Rating

Director

Baz Luhrmann

Screenplay

Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce

Length

2h 07m

Starring

Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh, Garry McDonald

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Review

When Hollywood learned to talk, it learned to sing and the film musical began. Then when color came around in the 1930s, Hollywood learned to visualize. Since then, the Hollywood musical has been an opulent, aural treat that captures the imagination and grips your emotions.

Baz Luhrmann, the visual mastermind behind such films as “Strictly Ballroom” and “William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet” tackles the style he seems best suited for: the Hollywood musical. This time out he’s made a film called “Moulin Rouge.”

“Moulin Rouge” is set in early 19th-Century Paris where a lowly writer named Christian (Ewan McGregor) has come to discover the Bohemian ideals of truth, beauty, freedom and love. There he meets a band of Bohemian artisans led by the diminutive, lisping Toulouse Lautrec (John Leguizamo).

The Bohemians have a new musical called “Spectacular, Spectacular” that they desperately want performed at the famed Moulin Rouge. The Moulin is a seedy bordello and show house in the Montmartre district of Paris. Its decadent streets are filled with absinthe-starved men and money-loving whores who convene nightly at the famed Moulin Rouge where they mingle with Parisian upper class gentlemen.

The star of the Moulin is the famous “Sparking Diamond” Satine (Nicole Kidman). Her very being is predicated by her desire to one day become a serious actress. Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent) has other plans. He wants to bring money into his establishment and has solicited a potential bid from the Duke of Monroth (Richard Roxburgh) whose lecherous mind wants little more than to be loved, even if artificially, by a beautiful woman.

In a case of mistaken identities, Satine ends up in the arms of Christian. They begin a secret romance hidden in the pretext of an actress needing rehearsal with the writer to ensure that “Spectacular, Spectacular” is a rousing success.

“Moulin Rouge” is a film that defies many conventions. The film takes place in a time long past and blends it with dramatized versions of modern rock classics. From Patti Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade” and Elton John’s “Your Song” to Madonna’s “Material Girl” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” director Baz Luhrmann took great risk in adopting such an anachronistic setting. Luckily, his gamble pays off in a rousing tribute to the long-gone era of grand, vibrant musicals.

Not since the 1970s has a non-Disney musical had such a terrific chance of revitalizing a waning genre. Alan Parker’s “Evita” was an attempt to revamp the musical. Madonna’s labor of love captured the joyous essence of the Hollywood musical, but never lit up the box office or revived the musical. Similarly, Bjork’s “Dancer in the Dark” is a wonderful, depressing tribute to the Hollywood musical, but was not seen by a wide-enough audience to count.

“Moulin” is as pretty as a picture and its talented stars are no exception. Kidman and McGregor sing their hearts out the two star-crossed lovers. Their chemistry is dazzling, reminiscent of great film duos like Bogart and Bergman. Each gives a stellar performance worthy of Oscar consideration. The rest of the cast performs admirably, including Broadbent whose theatre background helped immensely.

In the end, not all audiences will enjoy the in-your-face style Luhrmann adopts. In the two viewings I’ve had, someone has walked out each time. This isn’t the kind of film that will appeal to everyone; however it’s pervasive nature may endear it to the younger generation and leave it as a testament to our societal obsession with pop culture.

“Moulin Rouge” is a “very strange, enchanting” film that doesn’t require multiple viewings to understand, but demands to be viewed for the sake of pure entertainment.

Awards Prospects:

Potential nominations lie in Best Picture, Actor (McGregor), Actress (Kidman), Director, Origianl Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup and Sound. Art Direction, Editing and Costume Design are its best chances at wins.

Review Written

September 10, 2001