A spellbinding experience of Shakespearean proportions

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2002)

Spectacular, spectacular... the title of a dance hall show in the film, and the most apt description of the film itself. It is a show of enormous vision and brilliance - truly an Experience.
Following up his entrancingly surreal version of "Romeo and Juliet", director Baz Luhrmann has created his own spectacle of Shakespearean proportions. Like all of the master playwright's greatest works, the story is superficially simple - the plot could be summarised in one paragraph - and yet the message is deceptively complex. The themes of truth, beauty, freedom and love wash over you in a spellbinding display of style, and you are transported into the Bohemian world without even realising it.
The story is set in and around a dance hall in Paris, and so, fittingly, much of the story is told through song and dance. The music is a glorious montage of styles, featuring songs by David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Sting, Fatboy Slim, Nirvana, Elton John and old Marilyn Monroe numbers all flowing seamlessly together. With vocal cameos by Placido Domingo and Ozzy Osbourne - need I say more?
There simply are no weak points. The performances from all the actors are impeccable, and the cinematography and visual effects will blow you away even if you are immune to the power of the music. After watching it six times in the cinema, I was still captivated by it.
I'll have to stop now - I'm in danger of running out of superlatives, and anyway, the movie speaks for itself far better than a review ever could. Simply put it is a magical and beautiful production, the likes of which you have never seen before.
See it. Fall in love with it. Be forever changed. Or, be content to remain in a darker and more boring world.