Not a film, an experience. But so is watching paint dry!

Rating: 4/10 (3 March 2002)

Baz Luhrmann has aimed high and attempted to produce a stunning cinematic experience that is larger than life. Sadly he fell short.
This film has a plot so shallow that were it a puddle, ants could wade through it. Some films succeed despite this, but Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! is so crammed with over-exuberance that you can't help feeling that he was aware of the weakness of the plot and was trying to distract viewers from it. A good script has often overcome poor plots, but almost half the script (it irritatingly seems like more) is lifted directly from the lyrics of various songs. What begins as mildly amusing with 'The Sound of Music' rapidly wears thin as you realise that there was very little originality or creativity put in to the script. Then it becomes downright annoying that Luhrmann and Pierce have claimed writing credit for outright plagiarism of the works of many artists. Proponents of the film have pointed out to me that this isn't the point, that the whole extravanganza outweighs these shortcomings. Certainly the many song and dance routines, complete with their eclectic and impressive staging and costumes, lift the film up, but much of the great choreography is ruined by some unfortunately heavy and jarring editing that consistantly detracts from some good performances. The cast does perform well (if you like the singing performances of the actors), but the roles do not settle down well, with the tone bouncing from romantic through to farce via many other genres. This does not seem to be the fault of the cast, rather from a directorial approach that failed to decide what it wanted. The end result of this to-ing and fro-ing is that I felt no emotional contact with the characters even by the latter stages of the film and was actually thankful when Satine died as it meant that we must be near the end!
That said, this film does have its good points. The visuals are stunning; the costumes and sets are divine (if you like over the top); there are many 'small touches' that are worth looking out for; and the soundtrack is an inspired collection of predominantly old pop and rock classics, but with a number of newer or new tracks as well - all are good. The concept is bold, even if the execution has produced a 'cinematic experience' that is ultimately tedious and gives the impression that the film's good points are purposely outlandish to stun you in to missing its shortcomings.
Is it worth seeing? Yes - I am glad that I saw it (even more glad when the final credits came up!). Is it worth buying? Only of you are undemanding of anything more than bright colours and good music in your taste of film or else it will wear thin very rapidly. Expect to see many copies of the DVD appear on the second hand market in due course.