Love for Sale

Rating: 9/10 (18 June 2020)

Fresh to the scene, young writer, Christian played by Ewan McGregor arrives in 1899 Paris, France. Christian connects with the theater troupe and lands a job writing an extravagant musical play to be performed by the local artists and ladies of the evening. One of which is Satine played by Nicole Kidman. Christian falls in love with Satine - Satine is cautious because her business is to sell love, not fall in love. Enter The Duke, played by Richard Roxburgh, who will fund the theater endeavor. Aside from his investment, he wants Satine, who will be the star of the play, to become his lover. Satine goes along with the proposal for the sake of the play; however, she is not interested romantically in The Duke. Satine falls for Christian the writer, true love. Despite the fact, Christian doesn't have a penny to his name. The Duke becomes jealous, and mayhem is afoot. The audience is left wondering, will Satine go to The Duke or Christian. There's an element of dramatic irony as the audience knows that Satine's days are limited as she is inflicted with the consumption, otherwise known as tuberculosis. Satine remains on the fence as to reveal her true feelings. The Duke increases the stakes stating he will have Christian killed if she doesn't go along with the original agreement to be The Duke's lover. Satine agrees to stay with The Duke to protect Christian, leaving him confused and heartbroken. Christian's theater friends contribute to a jumble of events during the opening night of the play. After the dust settles, Satine is in Christian's arms.
The theme of this film is that one cannot purchase true love. When a person pays for intimacy, there will always be doubt if it was given truthfully. If there is doubt, how can there be trust, and without trust, there is no love. To complicate matters, The Duke invests his own money to produce the musical play expecting more than ticket sales in return; I.E., Satine's affection. Hanging in the balance are the theater actors yearning for the show to go on. ¾ of the way into the film, Satine is told by Moulin Rouge's manager, Mr. Zidler played by Jim Broadbent that she is dying from consumption, otherwise known as tuberculosis.
Another film with a similar theme is entitled, Indecent Proposal produced in 1993. Indecent Proposal has the same theme in attempting to buy love for a million dollars. This film has a bit of a twist, in that the main character, Robert Redford, approaches a married couple asking the husband if he can have a one-night affair with the wife.
There are a plethora of cinematic elements that unite the film. During the tango scene, theater spotlights were used on the dancers to create harsh illumination on their faces and crisp shadows. This heightens the tension between the characters and dilemma as to the outcome for who Satine will choose, The Duke or Christian. The musical number where Satine is lowered from the ceiling on a swing, upon which the camera circles around her quickly every 360 degrees, reveals the audience full of men, yearning for her attention. This accentuates the frenzy of the performance.
Many books and films attempted portray the notion of buying love, hoping, thinking, wishing it would be successful. We see this presented across many genres and for a vast array of target audiences. One could say that this theme is universally appealing and intriguing. As an audience member, we're compelled to watch because we're hoping this would be the one time they solved this dilemma.