Stunning visual, great music and acting

Rating: 9/10 (3 February 2017)

This movie takes a huge risk, with over-the-top melodrama, dancing and extravagant sets, but it works because the acting is strong and the music is great. There is a scene where they incorporate the song "Roxanne" as a tango with a huge ballroom full of dancers, while cutting back to a private scene where a courtesan is deciding whether to sell herself, and it's visually stunning with the song used to great effect. This was unlike any movie I've ever seen, in some senses a classic musical but unlike others because it mixes so many styles of music. The actors and the director should all be commended for putting themselves out there and making this work, at least for me.