Just gets better with repeated viewing!

Rating: 10/10 (21 April 2002)

There's so much to like about this film, especially if you've got the 2-disc DVD. If it feels like none of the DVD extras and behind the scenes footage ever shows these people with their guard down, maybe it's because they're all so open-hearted on screen--there are some lovely images though, including costume fittings and makeup tests that look like works of art in and of themselves (plus a lot of extra scenes that make one think Luhrman could've cut this film six or seven different ways). Ewan McGregor gives a lovely, soaking wet performance as the strange, enchanted boy, Christian, and no one in recent cinema history has been quite so charming--and I don't mean a Tom Cruise-"Top Gun" kind of charm. McGregor is nothing short of winning in this role. Together with Kidman--excellent screen chemistry and a virtuoso performance--they're the most memorable screen team in ages as they traverse the emotional rollercoaster Luhrman has set out for them. All this plus Jim Broadbent in the scene-stealing role of Zigler and Luhrman's sheer genius (who else could turn The Police's Roxanne into a heart-stopping dance spectacle?). Deserved much better than it got at the Oscars but who cares about them anyway? By the third viewing you'll be hearing Elton John's Your Song very much the way it must've sounded in Luhrman's head. Whether your attention is on the amazing production design or all of Nicole's nipple shots, just keep watching it--it gets better and better.