A Technicolor Yawn

Rating: 1/10 (27 January 2002)

In a way, Moulin Rouge typifies everything that's wrong with American cinema by bastardizing everything that's right with its European counterpart. Visually, the movie is a great reference for any commercial or video director. But unlike a music video that lasts only three minutes, Moulin Rouge begins with a visual volume worthy of Spinal Tap and tries to sustain it for 120 minutes. It doesn't work. The rule of dynamics applies as much to a pretentious musical as it does to an ambitious action film. If the volume is too loud, you simply can't hear anything. Everything gets lost in Moulin Rouge's hurricane of desperate art direction and production design. The film's leads, talented actors though they may be, simply aren't charismatic enough to compete. The movie requires posturing, not acting. And, frankly, there are no less charismatic actors than Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. In fact, their appeal is in their pastiness, not in their screen presence. What's more, the music can't compete either. Great songs are dwarfed by the never-ending onslaught of CGI visuals, which, after a while, become tedious. We get it, already. The moral of this story is that you still need one to make a good movie. Nothing can replace pen and paper. Unglamorous though it may be, a good script is everything. The filmmaker's previous effort with Romeo And Juliet worked precisely because he had a great script to begin with. The production design was icing on the cake. With Moulin Rouge, icing is all there is, and a satisfying meal it does not make.