Style over substance - what's wrong with that?

Rating: 10/10 (7 March 2002)

I saw Moulin Rouge three days ago for the first time, on DVD, and apart from the film, the DVD is very much worth seeing - buying even!
You may guess from that comment, that I loved it. 3 days later, I'm still left with a warm glow. The film is unashamedly about love, and I can understand many people hating it, because it's not a substantive film, like perhaps "A Beautiful Mind". To me, its the opposite of that film, where you are perhaps led to believe that you a fly on the wall of the life of Nash. Moulin Rouge is about being aware that this is fiction, that these characters aren't real, and showing an idyllic form of love that perhaps everyone should strive for, even if we can never reach it. The Moulin Rouge was a nightclub, and even today when we go to a nightclub, in a sense, its about leaving the real world behind, having a few drinks, dancing like maniacs, and maybe even finding love. Nightclubs are not about substance; they're about leaving substance behind.
The film is pure entertainment, a feast for the eyes, ears and heart, not for the brain. The frenetic pace, the colour, the familiar and sentimental love songs, the fantasy characters and the comedy which is absolute farce, make this film a unique experience. The audience is asked to sit back and enjoy, without really trying to preach or teach you anything. It demonstrates that film can be pure art, like a painting or music or dance, with no other agenda but to lift you out of the mundane ordinariness of life.
Congratulations to Baz Luhrmann for getting this film made, in an era where superficiality can be frowned upon, and films must fall into a category dictated by marketing people. Congratulations to Baz Luhrmann for casting Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, who were intelligent enough to see what he was trying to achieve, and going out on a limb with him to achieve it. Congratulations to Baz Luhrmann for his originality, bravery and vision in avoiding formulaic or so called "worthy" film-making. He has proved himself a visionary before, and he proves it again with Moulin Rouge. It is a shame that the Academy have not acknowledged him this year, because surely this was a directing triumph. I suspect that Moulin Rouge will go home empty handed from the Oscars, but that is an indictment of Hollywood, not of this great film. It is not only the best film of 2002, but probably the best film of the past ten years.
Nicole Kidman was incredible in her perfectly judged over the top performance, as was Ewan McGregor for his wide-eyed innocence and purity. And the singing? Brilliant. They looked like two people utterly in love, and gave those old love songs a depth of meaning that they never had before.
Maybe I'm shallow, but I'll take Baz Luhrmann's style over Ron Howard's substance any day of the week.
Ten out of Ten!