Dazzling.

Rating: 9/10 (8 January 2008)

I think that dazzling would be the best word to describe this film. Everything about it is just visually pleasing from the set designs to the beautiful costumes. The idea of adding unique flare to classic songs (i.e. "Heroes") really made me adore all of the musical numbers. For the most part, the charisma and eccentric nature of the film was hilarious and a joy to watch. However there were certain points, mostly in the first half, that were a little bit too out there for me to enjoy and ended up distracting me from the film as a whole. A lot of the film was really cheeky and sometimes that worked, but sometimes it turned me off. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman both give absolutely phenomenal performances (the best I've seen from both of them), doing an outstanding job of combining emotional range with drama, musical talent and very charismatic charm. I loved watching them throughout. The story has been done many times before, but it felt really fresh for some reason, maybe that had to do with the overwhelming charisma. I can't get over how fun it was to watch McGregor. Overall, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would and it's certainly one of the best of 2001.