Moulin Rouge (2005, VHS)

With my somewhat... shall we say... conservative... tastes in movies and books, it came as somewhat of a surprise to me the other day that I would even consider sitting down and watching Moulin Rouge, much less buying it on DVD. Yet, that's exactly what I did.

What came as even a bigger surprise to me is that I liked it. I liked it a lot.

That's not to say that Moulin Rouge didn't take a bit of getting used to. Five minutes into the film and I felt my senses being bombarded with frenetic, over-the-top, somewhat hard to follow (and swallow) scenes. "Geez," I kept thinking to myself, "how much of this can I take?!" But somehow, through it all, I was able to follow what turns out to be a very simple story line:

Moulin Rouge, a 2001 Baz Luhrmann film about life among the Bohemians in 1899 Paris, stars Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, and a cast of lesser known but very talented actors, singers, and dancers. It's basically another one of those "star-crossed lovers" vehicles in this case concerning two men and a woman involved in your basic love triangle.

One of the men is a young, decent, hard-working, poverty stricken, and very idealistic writer named "Christian" (played by McGregor). The other is a rich, evil, domineering fellow named "The Duke" (played by Richard Roxborough.) Both compete for the affections of Satine (Nicole Kidman), the most beautiful courtesan at the Moulin Rouge, Paris most decadent and popular night spot. Both men arrange to meet Satine at the same time in the same place, but for different reasons. Christian wants to read his poems to Satine, in the hopes of writing the script to a new play. The Duke wants... well, you figure it out!!

Christian gets there first and, of course, wins Satine s heart. The Duke, who is a potential financier of a new show at the Moulin Rouge, becomes insanely jealous and threatens to close down the club unless Satine becomes his lover. After much plotting, counter-plotting, conniving, and many bold attempts at resisting the Duke s threats, Satine is forced to sacrifice her love for Christian and become the rich man s lover... et cetera... et cetera...

The story may be familiar to most of us, but it s fairly well told, and the way it s told is certainly the most original I ve ever seen. Every scene in the film is garishly colorful, set at a dizzyingly fast pace, and filled with delightful cartoon-like characters and contrivances that do nothing but please the eyes and ears. That alone makes the film worth watching.

The acting in Moulin Rouge is very good and, in the case of Kidman and McGregor, much more than that. It s actually Oscar-worthy. Kidman is especially good as Satine. She shows a truly remarkable range throughout the film, showing herself, in turns, as saucy, seductive, raunchily erotic, dignified, vulnerable, sad, and resigned to her fate. In all scenes she is completely believable. It s certainly her finest film performance to date.

McGregor almost matches Kidman scene for scene in acting ability. His part requires somewhat less of a range than hers, but he certainly stands out in every scene! There s an excellent chemistry between these fine actors that illuminates the entire film.

Moulin Rouge is filled with wonderfully produced music. Most of the score is comprised of pop tunes from the 1970s through the 1990s, so there s not much originality there. But the song selection is nearly perfect for the story. Viewers are treated to such 1970s and 80s pop classics as "Your Song," "Like a Virgin," "Lady Marmelade," and the gorgeous, sumptuous renditions of "Come What May" and "One Day I ll Fly Away." Each song in this music-intensive film does a remarkably good job of moving a simple story along at a dizzying pace. And it must be said that the performers are superb throughout. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor are very good indeed at singing their own songs, despite their lack of musical and vocal experience.

THE DVD: is excellent, and gives viewers plenty of "bang for the buck!" This is a two disc package, the first containing the film and a few "extras," and the second containing several hours of bonus material. An audio CD sampler is also included. Video and audio quality for all features are first rate all the way.

MY VERDICT: Much to my surprise and delight I found Moulin Rouge a wonderful two hours of entertainment. The story line isn t much, but the acting, the energy, the fast pace, and the wildly colorful sets and costumes, and the music make this a film well worth seeing.