A delirious candy box of music and romance.

Rating: Null/10 (7 January 2004)

Stylized. Kinetic. Hyperactive. These words are understatements when describing this film. The dream child of exacting and passionate director Luhrmann, it is a complete revitalization and rejuvenation of a long dead genre - the cinematic musical. Annoying nearly as many people as it captivated, it is a thoroughly unique film with unending movement, color and emotion, all wrapped in a startlingly plush production design. The story concerns McGregor, a naive young poet, who comes to turn-of-the-century Paris and becomes involved with the Bohemian lifestyle and ideals. He maneuvers his way into writing a stage spectacular for budding star (and courtesan) Kidman and winds up completely falling for her. Unfortunately, she is already spoken for by a sniveling, controlling Duke (Roxburgh) as arranged by her promoter/pimp (Broadbent.) McGregor fashions a stage show around the story he is actually living and the two worlds become intertwined with Kidman at the center of both. In a bold, but highly entertaining move, Lurhmann arranged for most of the music in the film to be contemporary pop sings filtered through an entirely new sensibility. This adds all new dimension and texture to songs that the audience is familiar with. The film begins in a wildly frenetic and jarring manner. Viewers who like this or who can hang on through this will likely find themselves enjoying the rest. Others may be put off and have a hard time accepting the unusual and decidedly different reality that this film lives in. Kidman broke away from her previous, somewhat middling career with this movie. She burst on to the scene in a whole new light and has never looked back. She is worshipped throughout by creative costuming, lighting, staging and especially by McGregor. As fine as she is, her performance would be somewhat dimmed if not for the amazing, heart-on-his-sleeve acting and singing of McGregor. He catapults off the cliff of emotional safety, completely exhibiting his adoration for Kidman and displaying a voice that is unusual, but exceedingly emotional and beautiful. The two make a stunning pair. It is inexplicable that McGregor was not nominated for an Oscar. There is strong support from Roxburgh and Broadbent and a host of odd little characters, though Leguizamo is an acquired taste. As the diminutive Toulouse-Lautrec, he is both affecting and annoying at the same time. The plot is pretty thin and predictable (as so many musical plots are!), but the sumptuous elements of the production and the invigorating singing, choreography and acting make it soar pretty high. This kicked the door open for other big screen musicals like "Chicago" and introduced a generation to a genre that had been ignored for decades.