Who needs a plot when you can have Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Love?

Rating: 10/10 (19 November 2001)

This film has been slated by numerous people for a lack of originality and a feather-weight plot. Both of these criticisms I find hard to fathom. For one thing, I can guarantee that you have never seen a movie like this before, and are unlikely to see anything quite like it again. For another, the entire genre of love stories isn't exactly groaning with stunning and complex plot lines, so why should this one suddenly have to be judged by some monumental standard, particularly when it has so much else to offer?
What makes 'Moulin Rouge' so special is not only the much discussed pace of the opening twenty minutes, or the way in which the perfectly chosen songs are fused and reworked into each other and the story, but the performances of the entire cast, from the evident enjoyment they display in the early ensemble scenes through to the love scenes between Ewan McGregor (who has a smile to die for) and Nicole Kidman, both of whom look stunningly beautiful and have real chemistry (they CAN sing too).
The film also manages to avoid the law of diminishing returns, with each musical number or emotional twist being bigger/better/funnier/sadder than the last, no mean achievement when you consider the scale of the opening.
I don't want to give away any details, so I'll leave it there and just urge everyone to see this film for themselves because it really is worth it - funny, sad, entertaining, overwhelming and very touching. Who needs a hefty plot when faced with all of that?