mixed feelings

Rating: 6/10 (25 February 2002)

What I liked: visually the movie is gorgeous. The sets are great, so are the costumes. The colors are beautiful. I also liked much of the music. I appreciated the joke of using late 20th century popular tunes in a movie set in 1900. The two principal actors (Nicole and Ewan) sing amazingly well.
What I did not like: First of all the story. Was this the one-millionth love story? Will he get her, will she get him? Who cares? This type of story has been told so often in books and movies. Then the over-acting: the Duke and the Moulin Rouge's director over-acted heavily, making their scenes unrealistic. The other actors over-acted a bit too. Maybe the over-acting was intentional - it fits the type of acting that was practiced around 1900. Still I don't like it.
Overall a 6.5 out of 10.