Moulin Rouge

"Extraordinary"

Moulin Rouge Review


When a red curtain opens and an orchestra conductor emerges to "direct" the unmistakable 20th Century Fox theme music, we know we're in for something different. Really different. Good different.

Filled with virtuoso special effects and spectacular song-and-dance sequences, Baz Luhrmann's long-awaited Moulin Rouge makes every minute of our collectively held breath worthwhile. In fact, during its opening hour, this critic found it hard to look away even for a second to jot down a note, for fear of missing even a nuanced sparkle in the eye of some French whore.

But enough about me.

Somewhere between a fairy tale and an episode of Sesame Street, sitting on a strange line between history and fantasy, lies Moulin Rouge, a vaguely familiar story about a love affair between a penniless writer and a dying courtesan. Set in Paris in the year 1900, in and around the infamous Moulin Rouge -- a brothel/dancehall in the seediest part of town -- the film quickly tosses us into a whirlwind of a story, windmill included.

Christian (Ewan McGregor) arrives in Paris, eager to make his mark as a writer. No sooner does he begin to type than a band of bohemian poets and actors literally fall in on him, including the crazed and diminutive Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo, acting on his knees). Together they hatch a plot to take a new musical across the street to the Moulin Rouge in search of a backer for their thrilling new show.

Naturally, before midnight strikes, Christian has fallen in love with the star of the Rouge, the "Sparkling Diamond" Satine (Nicole Kidman), while her boss, the maniacal Zidler (Jim Broadbent) looks on disapprovingly. The man with the money is the Duke of Worcester (Richard Roxburgh), to whom everyone must suck up. But it wouldn't be a movie unless the Duke was also in love with Sabine -- and boy does he have a mean streak....

Its plot is as old and trite as the most overdone of Greek tragedies, but the fun of Moulin Rouge is all in its telling. Far and away the best part of the movie are the spectacular musical numbers performed by some very good (not great) singers. (All the actors did their own voice work.) When they simply talk, you'll find yourself drumming your fingers, hoping the next number will come along soon. And they always do -- like a machine gun, some 19 performances appear in rapid succession.

The songs are all contemporary numbers unknown to 1900s Paris. While the use of pop songs in period pieces has actually been a mainstay of the musical since the 1940s, it's never been taken to the extremes of Rouge. A Knight's Tale tried this stunt only a few weeks ago, with mixed results. In Moulin Rouge, McGregor belts out "The Sound of Music" in one scene, Broadbent vamps through "Like a Virgin" (yes, Jim Broadbent), McGregor and Kidman duet memorably through a host of love-themed songs while standing atop the elephant in which she lives (yes, elephant), and the entire cast tangos to a Latin-infused version of "Roxanne," with Jose Feliciano backing the group. You won't even realize Marilyn Manson is covering "Smells Like Teen Spirit." A Knight's Tale's "We Will Rock You" comes off as lame in comparison. Put simply, Moulin Rouge rocks.

The cast is uniformly superb. Jim Broadbent appears larger than life (and he is larger than life to begin with), while John Leguizamo is astonishingly smaller than life... with a French lisp to boot ("the Thpawk-leeeng Die-aaay-mon!" -- try it out loud). Of course, this is Kidman's and McGregor's movie, and when they're together on screen the picture shines brighter than ever. In fact, for their duets, Luhrmann (William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet) really cranks things up, laying on the dazzle and pouring his heart into the movie. The three of them form a remarkably apt trio.

Still, there's only so much of this anyone can take. Moulin Rouge is a movie that wears down the audience and its cast. While it starts off as an unmitigated five-star extravaganza, it eventually flags into mere four-star territory as the film becomes repetitious and a bit slow (heresy!). Still, it's one of the best films of the year to date, following Memento as the only award-caliber film released so far in 2001.

But forget all of that. What you will have witnessed after seeing Moulin Rouge is nothing short of the rebirth of the movie musical. It will certainly be a love-it-or-hate-it experience for moviegoers -- but like they say, if you don't get it, you're just too old. Way too old.

Dead, probably.

As good as the film is, the Moulin Rouge DVD is better, a lavish, two-disc affair replete with extras. Luhrmann appears on two commentary tracks, and (much like The Matrix) a "follow the green fairy" feature takes you to mini-making-of bits in context with the movie. And if all that's not enough, just pop in the second disc, for inside looks at early script drafts (amazing!), deleted scenes (inspiring!), and just about anything else you could want to see -- including the performance of "Lady Marmalade" at the MTV Movie Awards. Outstanding disc.

The rogues of Rouge



Moulin Rouge

Facts and Figures

Run time: 119 mins

In Theaters: Tuesday 23rd December 1952

Box Office Worldwide: $177.7M

Budget: $50M

Distributed by: MGM Home Entertainment

Production compaines: Bazmark Films, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 4.5 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
Fresh: 6 Rotten: 2

IMDB: 7.2 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director:

Starring: as Satine, as Christian, as Toulouse-Lautrec, as The Unconscious Argentinean, as The Duke, as The Doctor, as The Unconscious Argentinean, Matthew Whittet as Satie, as Marie, as Nini Legs in the Air, as Arabia, Natalie Mendoza as China Doll, Lara Mulcahy as Môme Fromage, as Audrey, as The Green Fairy, as Voice of the Green Fairy, as Le Chocolat, as Warner, as Le Petomane, as Stage Manager, Norman Kaye as Satine's Doctor, as Christian's Father, Carole Skinner as Landlady, as Man in the Moon, as Voice of Man in the Moon (as Placido Domingo), Kiruna Stamell as La Petite Princesse, Anthony Young as Orchestra Member, Dee Donavan as Character Rake, Johnny Lockwood as Character Rake, Don Reid as Character Rake, as Prostitute, Daniel Scott as Absinthe Drinker / Guitarist, Veronica Beattie as Montmartre Dance Team, Lisa Callingham as Montmartre Dance Team, Rosetta Cook as Montmartre Dance Team, Fleur Denny as Montmartre Dance Team, Kelly Grauer as Montmartre Dance Team, Jaclyn Hanson as Montmartre Dance Team, Michelle Hopper as Montmartre Dance Team, Fallon King as Montmartre Dance Team, Wendy McMahon as Montmartre Dance Team, Tracie Morley as Montmartre Dance Team, Sue-Ellen Shook as Montmartre Dance Team, Jenny Wilson as Montmartre Dance Team, Luke Alleva as Montmartre Dance Team, Andrew Aroustian as Montmartre Dance Team, Stephen Colyer as Montmartre Dance Team, Steve Grace as Montmartre Dance Team (as Steven Grace), Mark Hodge as Montmartre Dance Team, as Montmartre Dance Team, Deon Nuku as Montmartre Dance Team, Shaun Parker as Montmartre Dance Team, Troy Phillips as Montmartre Dance Team, Rodney Syaranamual as Montmartre Dance Team, Ashley Wallen as Montmartre Dance Team, Nathan Wright as Montmartre Dance Team, Susan Black as Paris Dance Team, Nicole Brooks as Paris Dance Team, Danielle Brown as Paris Dance Team, Anastacia Flewin as Paris Dance Team, Fiona Gage as Paris Dance Team, Alex Harrington as Paris Dance Team, Camilla Jakimowicz as Paris Dance Team, Rochelle Jones as Paris Dance Team, Caroline Kaspar as Paris Dance Team, Mandy Liddell as Paris Dance Team, Melanie Mackay as Paris Dance Team, Elise Mann as Paris Dance Team, Charmaine Martin as Paris Dance Team, Michelle Wriggles as Paris Dance Team, Michael Boyd as Paris Dance Team, Lorry D'Ercole as Paris Dance Team, Michael Edge as Paris Dance Team, Glyn Gray as Paris Dance Team, Craig Haines as Paris Dance Team, Stephen Holford as Paris Dance Team, Jamie Jewell as Paris Dance Team, Jason King as Paris Dance Team, Ryan Males as Paris Dance Team, Harlin Martin as Paris Dance Team, Andrew Micallef as Paris Dance Team, Jonathan Schmölzer as Paris Dance Team, Bradley Spargo as Paris Dance Team, Joseph 'Pepe' Ashton as Tabasco Brother, Jordan Ashton as Tabasco Brother, Marcos Falagan as Tabasco Brother, Mitchel Falagan as Tabasco Brother, Chris Mayhew as Tabasco Brother, Hamish McCann as Tabasco Brother, Adrien Janssen as Tabasco Brother, Shaun Holloway as Tabasco Brother, Darren Dowlut as Cocoliscious Brother, Dennis Dowlut as Cocoliscious Brother, Pina Conti as La Ko Ka Chau, Nandy McClean as Twin, Maya McClean as Twin, Patrick Harding-Irmer as Waiter, Albin Pahernik as Waiter, Aurel Verne as Waiter, Kip Gamblin as Latin Dancer

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