A circus blend of Shakespearean comedy, Cabaret, and Romeo & Juliet

Rating: 7/10 (30 May 2001)

This film has plenty of pizzazz, dash and spectacle with fabulous costumes, eccentric characters, dizzying camera movement, and a curiously surreal, circus-like Paris. It's also a funny, fresh look at the tragic love story -- and only with Baz Luhrmann at the helm could that not be a contradiction.
This is a musical, first of all, and that will alienate some potential movie-goers. The characters burst into extravagant musical numbers (my favorites were the Roxanne tango--WOW--and the comic "Like a Virgin" number) at the drop of a hat, and any smidgen of realism is non-existent. That said, however, the love story between Christian (Ewan McGregor) and Satine (Nicole Kidman) carries a surprising ring of truth. McGregor's natty smile (reminds me a little of Hugh Grant, but I reckon McGregor brings it off in a less corny way) and Kidman's melting response just work a treat.
Story-wise, this one is very Shakespearean with all sorts of mix-ups and confusions and plenty of bizarre side-characters with wonderful cameo roles. You feel like the cast had a lot of fun making this film, and you're let in on some of the jokes, which is very neat.
That all said, I still wasn't as pulled into this film as I have been with others. It was fun and I wasn't bored, but I wasn't much moved either, and at the end I have to give this film a firm thumb up, but not two thumbs.