The musical strikes back

Rating: Null/10 (24 October 2001)

Let's face it: Musical cinema sucks. Not counting Disney's animated musicals, you can count the good hollywood musicals of the last 30 years the fingers of one hand. Now Baz Luhrmann, king of camp, emperor of indulgence, gleefuly and effortlessly bucks the trend with a movie that's everything great about musicals. It's dazzling, hedonistic, spectacular and it lifts your soul up into the clouds.
Set in bohemian Montmartre, around the turn of the last century, Moulin Rouge tells the story of a young writer (Ewan McGregor) who falls in love with a beautiful courtesan (Nicole Kidman) who seems way out of his league. It's a simple, tried and tested story. There's nothing challenging about this movie, and therein lies the secret of its success. The music is borrowed from 20th Century artists as diverse as the Beatles, Nirvana and Madonna and the plot is borrowed from a variety of sources such as "La Boheme" and "Midsummer Nights Dream". But throwing these elements into the mix with this degree of success is an achievement of sheer genius.

Visually, Luhrmann pulls out all the stops and lets rip with a stunning display of effects. The result is breathtaking. This movie is up there with Jurassic Park and the Matrix in terms of redefining what technology can do for a movie. The scene in which we are introduced to the Moulin Rouge and it's proprietor is blinding. You feel you have to steady yourself for fear of falling out your seat and getting sucked into the screen.
Of course, the danger of experimentation is that the results are often hit and miss. Fortunately there's 10 hits to every miss here. Highlights:
The love medley that takes in David Bowie, Dolly Parton and the Beatles
The dramatic highlight of the movie: Roxanne
The truly spectacular spectacular finale show
9/10