a spectacular spectacular!

Rating: Null/10 (28 June 2001)

while i found myself absolutely overwhelmed by the breakneck pace of the opening scenes, when the first scene is over, i was struck by how successfully the director captured the sense of an opera. while describing the movie to friends, i describe it as an opera with dialogue.
a lot of comments have been made about nicole kidman's performance to which i find it unnecessary to add. however, nowhere near enough attention is paid to ewan macgregor's voice and acting. in the scene just before the first duet, i was struck by how much macgregor reminded me of gene kelly, both physically and in the kind of warmth he was able to project in his voice. truly stunning.
and one comment about the music: a truly first-rate job was done stringing these compositions together. the transitions in the medleys are masterful. and i'll never hear "roxanne" the same way again.
ed