A Nauseating Film........

Rating: 1/10 (8 March 2003)

MOULIN ROUGE is quite simply a physical assault on the senses. The viewer is attacked with pop-culture sensibilities and a highly marketable soundtrack. This is not helped by the director, Baz Luhrmann, who will not let you forget that you are watching a film directed by Baz Luhrmann. Enough, we get it, you have a distinct visual style, that's great...now make a watchable film. I made it about half-way through his ROMEO + JULIET before I had to take half a white valium. This "resurgence of the musical" simply sweeps an arm across Billboard Music's top twenty list and arranges such classics as 'Like a Virgin' and 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' as over-directed large-scale musical numbers...wow. This film vomits garish style and dated cinematic techniques to the point where it becomes unbearable.
I understand that Nicole Kidman's character was supposed to be vampish, but c'mon, Elvira had more nuance than this. Ewan McGregor is the only one who narrowly escapes this mess (although he should not sacrifice his film career for one in music). There are more characters doing jerky, sped-up backflips than any one person should have to tolerate in a single production. The story...huh, was there a story? If there was, Baz Luhrmann did not handle it very well. A trendy, self indulgent waste of time. 1/10
Quick Story: While viewing this film in the theater, I was so overwhelmed with desperation, that I unlaced my boot and crafted a make-shift noose. I proceeded to wear this about my neck all through the movie and continued to do so following the film. I got some strange looks from my fellow movie-goers, who seemed to have enjoyed MOULIN ROUGE.