A Spectacular Musical!

Rating: 9/10 (30 January 2002)

Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! achieves what few musicals have done in my life: wait for the next song! Usually, I feel that the songs in musicals halt the story, and become boring when the chorus is said for the fifth time... But it is not the same thing with Moulin Rouge!. First of all, the collection of popular songs that have been used to create the songs from Moulin Rouge! have the word "variety" written all over them. Lady Marmalade meets Smells Like Teen Spirits! The Police, The Beatles, Nirvana, Madonna... The list of bands and artists goes on and on... And everything is really well done! Even better, the story is being told by the songs instead of simply being repeated... But even better than the music is the visual style of the movie. If Luhrmann's camera moved too fast for you in Romeo and Juliet, don't even think about watching Moulin Rouge! without getting a headache. Everything feels larger than life, everything is moving. Beautiful colors invade the screen. This movie is a visual treat. Even better: the acting is actually quite good. Ewan McGregor, an actor I really like, is great and is on screen chemistry with Nicole Kidman is impressive. They are a great couple. And Kidman is beautiful, even more so than she usually is, which says a lot. This only makes it more credible that every man dreams of her. As a movie couple, Christian and Satine are fantastic. Luhrmann might be behind this, as Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes were another great on-screen couple in his previous movie. And John Leguizamo is impressive in the relatively small part of Toulouse-Lautrec. And lets not forget Jim Broadbent, as Zidler, the owner of the Moulin Rouge!, another great addition to the cast. The most sursprising thing about Moulin Rouge!, though, might be the fact that the cliché story is actually quite touching. Basically, this could have been called "Romeo and Juliet Go To The Moulin Rouge", but everyone takes the classic storyline to life with such passion, and the characters are so effective that you dont mind the fact that you have been told a similar story quite a few times. From the beginning of the movie, Christian says that the story will end sadly, but you nevertheless keep hoping... Basically, this love story is much better than 1997's "Romeo and Juliet Are On A Boat", also known as Titanic. So the music is great, the acting is great, the story is involving and the movie is visually stunning. What more can you ask?
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