Memorable

Rating: Null/10 (25 September 2001)

What can I say that hasn't already been said? Moulin Rouge is truly all of what it seems. You really get hit by all the noise and colours in the first 15 minutes. Dancing, yelling, singing and chaos ensues, but after that initial burst, the film settles into the story. Christian (Ewan McGregor, looking every inch the soulful, sincere lover) is a penniless poet/writer who's moved to Montmartre to join in the Bohemian revolution. He falls in with a group of hardcore bohemians (led by John Leguizamo's lisping dwarf, Toulouse Lautrec) and somehow manages to fall in love with the Moulin Rouge's great courtesan, the beautiful Satine (Nicole Kidman, perfection personified in this), while writing a play for the famed dance hall. Intervention comes in the form of the Duke (a menacing Richard Roxburgh), who believes Satine is his property. Watch out for Jim Broadbent as Harold Zidler, owner of the Moulin Rouge, and a cameo by Aussie pop queen Kylie Minogue as the 'Green Fairy' of 'Green Fairy Absinthe'.

The performances are strikingly beautiful, and everything each character says has meaning. The supporting characters are vital to the story, and in more than one scene they have a key role to play. That said, I think Moulin Rouge will begin a renaissance in musicals, and influence the way they're done for years to come. 9 stars.