This film is truly dire...

Rating: 1/10 (15 April 2002)

but what is even more disturbing, it achieved both critical acclaim and box office success. There is no denying Buz Luhrmann put a huge amount of effort into making what is at times visually dazzling, but that does not compensate for what is a lame story, and mostly poor performances. As a Scotsman I do like to see Ewan McGregor do well but this is his poorest performance to date, and even worst he spends much of the film singing despite the fact that he cannot sing. Nicole Kidman puts in a rather uninspiring performance and also struggles due to the fact that her voice is not up to what is required in this role. Jim Broadbent, admittedly puts in an excellent show as the eccentric Harold Zidler, but that is one of the few redeeming features of this lacklustre film. As soon as the novelty of watching a musical set in Paris in 1900 with the music taken from a century later, wears off (which is ten minutes into the film), the viewer is left to watch a shell of a film, all style and no substance.