sadly not a great musical

Rating: Null/10 (11 November 2001)

I am a huge fan of musicals and have watched the best of this genre. So I am extremely sad to admit that I did not like this latest Luhrmann film too much. From the moment I read that this film was in pre-production I was afraid that he would drown this film in his usual excessive style. And it turned out to be true. The first 10 minutes of Moulin Rouge should be taught in film schools as a lesson on how not-to begin a film! It was so confusing. Fortunately, the plot-of what little there is- was slowly introduced after that and the movie became more accessible. However, the last half-hour was a truly unbearable affair: If I would hear the line "The greatest thing you'll ever learn bla bla" one more time towards the end, I could throw up. The greatest thing Luhrmann will never learn, I suppose, is that sometimes less is more. I'm one of the biggest advocates of in-your-face visual style when it comes to movies but this time I was only tired trying to make a sense out of never-ending cuts and the never-ending on screen parade of colours and tableux. This director was more in control of his art when he made "Strictly Ballroom", in my opinion still his best film. It had all the right doses from everything. Moulin Rouge is yet another proof that he went berserk when he was given free rein by Fox. On the other hand, I can only applaud what Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor have done in this film. The former is DEFINITELY up there in the top 10 of the most-breathtaking portrayals of women on screen. She is a goddess of charm, beauty and sex appeal. She also has great comic timing throughout the whole wrong-man-seduced scene. This performance clearly has Oscar written on it. I hope the Academy finally pays its due on her and rewards her with her first nomination this year. She deserved it for "To Die For" years ago so it is time to undo that mistake. EwanMc Gregor is all wide-eyed charm and delight the whole film through and displays yet again what a wide-range of talents he has. So this film will leave its mark on me mostly with the performances of these two bright actors.