Baz Luhrmann extravaganza

Rating: 7/10 (16 April 2014)

It's 1899 Paris. Christian (Ewan McGregor) is an English writer trying to take in Parisian artistic life. He befriends Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo). He gets involved with Moulin Rouge star Satine (Nicole Kidman). The club owner Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent) has promise her to the Duke (Richard Roxburgh) if he would invest.
It's got Baz Luhrmann's grand vision. It's a modern day musical. McGregor and Kidman are surprisingly good as singers. It's still not my taste but it's got the style right. Its excesses are what sells this movie. Anything less would reduce this to no more than musical theater. The story is melodramatic but it is in keeping with the tone of the movie. Even using modern songs as burlesque music seems somehow fitting if somewhat weird.