My feelings about Moulin Rouge! are as schizophrenic as the film itself!

Rating: Null/10 (4 April 2002)

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS** throughout. I saw this film last year after it reached the second-run movie theater market. Had I paid $7-10 to see it instead of $1, I might be more harsh about what I felt were the movie's shortcomings. As it was, after being absolutely flummoxed by the beginning--(and wondering if I should cut my losses and leave), I stayed to the end and found that I could enjoy many moments of the film. My problem is that after reading many of the reviews on this website--and quite a few on other websites--I find that I can agree with pretty much everything anyone says--(EXCEPT the criticism of Ewan MacGregor's singing. I thought it was marvellous and saved many of the musical numbers.) As for the movie: It was too frenetic. The love story did need time to breathe to have emotional resonance. I too had trouble deciphering whether the director was satirizing romantic musicals or paying tribute to them. That said, I also can agree with those who found it moving and dazzling and fascinating. My feelings about the film fluctuate as much as the camera work. I love opera so you know I can suspend a lot of disbelief, but even I need some emotional sincerity to hang my hat on. The scenes where Satine and Christian are falling in love had that; as did the scenes of the friendship among the "Children of the Revolution" and their creative struggles. The death at the end did not because I did not feel that Nicole Kidman, who did a good job with a"woman as symbol" role, and Ewan Macgregor, who was charming and credible in a role written as more of a type than a flesh and blood person were not allowed uninterrupted, non-gimmicked up screen time to give their scenes emotional richness and space. I think this is one film where I'll always cherish certain scenes from the film, but never end up whole-heartedly loving the entire picture. If the director had toned down his delight with various bags of tricks and avoided the temptation to try have his romance/satire/parody cake and eat it too, this film could have been a classic. Love that ends in heartbreak and death can rarely co-exist with looniness and glitter. I wish more filmakers would remember that. There's nothing wrong with ungilded sentiment. That said, when I see the film again, I'll probably have yet another set of opinions about it. I guess I should just be glad that anyone dares to make a film that isn't so bland that everyone can agree on it.