One to simply be enjoyed, rather than analysed (SPOILERS)

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2002)

The reviews I have read on the subject of this film seem either to say "This is the best film I've EVER seen" (probably for around a week) or "Anyone who felt anything other than total disgust at viewing this film is an imbecile". I can see where both sides are coming from, and I think that aspects of both are true.
Moulin Rouge is the kind of film that has the capacity to greatly inspire you, assuming you are willing to forgive its weak points (more on that below). Its message is crystal clear and poignantly delivered "The greatest thing you'll ever learn..." I am not the kind of viewer who watches films searching for weak points to make disparaging comments about at a later date, so the fact that I did sense that some aspects were not of the standard the remainder of the film deserves is proof that they are easily apparent. However, I loved this film. This was in spite of, or perhaps even because of, the several things that were bad about it.
First, the good points. Most undeniably the cast. Nicole Kidman simply casts a spell as Satine (though for Gods sake stop her pouring emulsion over herself, or whatever the hell she does to get a distinctly unsexy white sheen on her skin), and Ewan McGregor, who has always seemed mildly annoying to me, also puts in a very good performance. Jim Broadbent doesn't put a foot wrong as Zidler, Richard Roxburgh manages to pull off the trick of being both a caricature and occasionally exuding menace - the final scene with him advancing toward the stage brandishing a pistol had genuine ferocity about it - and all the other supporting actors live up to expectations. The one character who annoyed me throughout was "Nini Legs in the Air". First of all, the woman is ugly. Second, her spiteful comments to both the leads just made me want to slap the woman. I wasn't as annoyed as some by the constant changes in focus. Perhaps I wasn't analysing it at a deep enough level to be greatly troubled by it, but after the mayhem of the first twenty minutes the cameraman appears to get his caffeine fix and reduce the jerking of the camera. The direction was inspired, innovative, and a refreshing departure from the norm. I was also not troubled by the use of modern music, indeed in certain scenes it made the film. My favourite scene, with the two leads serenading one another atop an elephant (ridiculous as it sounds), was touching, well choreographed, and exquisitely performed.
Now the bad points. Basically they all revolve around the one central problem - the plot. Now fair enough, its not about the plot, blah blah, but basically, much as I enjoyed the "Your Song" scene, I couldn't see the two of them as a realistic couple. So shoot me. I loved the film, but its fundamental premise left me shaking my unashamedly idealistic head.
Whilst I disagree that revealing the ending at the start was necessarily a bad thing, I do agree that the transparency of the plot inevitably lead to total predictability. TOTAL predictability. As in, after the first hour, I could have written detailed scene summaries for the second hour.
That being said, I found Moulin Rouge to be a great film, extremely enjoyable, and able to be watched on multiple occasions with no reduction in that enjoyment. I heartily recommend it to people with the ability not to delve too deeply into its underlying weaknesses, but to bask in the warm glow of its surface magic. I don't know if its one of the best films I've seen in a while, but its definitely one of those I've enjoyed the most. An easy 9/10.