Frantic

Rating: 5/10 (21 February 2005)

I hate musicals. Well, not all of them but almost. That's also why i put off watching this one for years. Simply because i didn't think i could possibly enjoy it. And did i? Well. Let's see.
Baz Luhrmann has made the more or less "hysterical" film-making his thing. And this is certainly quite hysterical. The pace is admirably high throughout, but also skillfully kept at a level where we still have energy to keep watching. Luhrmanns feeling for visuals and audio is impeccable. Making this an experience that assaults the senses in a very dramatic way. I must admit though that even though the movie seemed to do everything available to keep the viewers interest up, the frantic pace got the best of me in the end. The last 15-20 minutes were rather painfully prolonged.
So what about the music? This is a musical after all. Well, the songs were quite sing-a-long friendly. I felt like breaking out singing myself several times. Especially when hearing the sometimes quite painfully weak voice of Ewan McGregor. Maybe it was not THAT bad, but i was not impressed. Otherwise the singing as well as the picking of music was top-notch. A lot of classic songs that might not fit that well into the 1900's Paris, but perfectly into the burlesque mood of the film, mixed nicely with brand new material.
So, what's the verdict. Well i must say this movie was not really for me. While i enjoyed it more than your typical musical it was still just too frantic and bizarre for my tastes. The acting was OK and the music was great, but still it's too much for me. I guess many people love this, but i give it an average rating. Knowing that my taste is the real problem here. 5/10.