MOULIN ROUGE! (2001) / *** 1/2
Directed by Baz Luhrmann. Screenplay by Luhrmann and Craug Pearce. Starring Nicole Kidman, Ewen McGregor, Richard Roxburgh. Running time: 128 minutes. Rated PG for mature theme by the MFCB. Reviewed on August 27th, 2001.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: In 1899, young playwright Christian (McGregor) travels to Paris where he befriends Toulouse Lautrec (John Leguizamo) and visits the Moulin Rouge, the infamous nightclub-turned-theatre run by Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent). There, Christian falls in love with dancer and would-be actress Satine (Kidman), and must compete for her affections with the Moulin Rouge's odious benefactor, the Duke of Monroth (Roxburgh). It soon becomes evident that Christian's masterpiece will determine not only his future with Satine, but also the fate of the Moulin Rouge itself.
Review: Amazing! Astounding! A breath of fresh air! "Moulin Rouge!" is all this and more. Audiences may find its opening moments hard to process; its hyperkinetic pacing and raucous visual style is a vast departure from the mainstream. But most viewers should be able to attune themselves to Luhrmann's offbeat filmmaking before too long; those who expend the effort will find themselves plunged into a superior cinematic experience that makes it all worthwhile. Combining visual effects, model work, live action and any number of inventive camera angles and motions, Luhrmann gives "Moulin Rouge!" a distinctive appearance which nicely evokes the movie's setting of 1899 Paris and the "Bohemian Revolution". And though it may seem almost contradictory, Luhrmann's use of modern music -- everything from "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" to "My Song" -- merely enhances the atmosphere (Broadbent's uproarious rendition of "Like A Virgin" is especially noteworthy). The performers hit all the right notes, especially McGregor, who achieves a nice mix of optimism and desperation. But ironically, so spoiled are we by the first half of "Moulin Rouge!" that when things calm down a bit and drift into more traditional melodrama thereafter, it comes as a disappointment. Still, "Moulin Rouge!" is an assault on the eyes and ears of rare truculence, and rarer pleasure.
Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html
| Shannon Patrick Sullivan | shannon@mun.ca | +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+ / Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) go.to/drwho-history \ \__ We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/
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