Moulin Rouge (2008, DVD)

Preamble
Let's get this straight. I don't like musicals. Grease? Sure, it had its time and place. The Music Man? High school fodder for David Cassidy wannabees.

And then there's Moulin Rouge. (Insert dramatic pause here). Either musicals have progressed significantly OR Baz Luhrmann has a great one on his hands.

The End
There are many of you that really want to see a movie but don't even want to read a full review until AFTER you've seen it. You want to experience it without anything being given away.

I want you to see this movie therefore, I am moving "The End" up to the top :).

This movie is for the hopeless romantic. No, it's not a "chick flick". It's for that person who wishes that they could experience the high they felt the first time that their lips touched anothers. It's for that person whose heart aches and feels pain that no other human being seems capable of feeling. It's for the individual whose soul unites music and emotion.

Is that you? If so, you'll like this movie.

What's This About?
We've got your basic girl/boy/evil plot going on here. Naive Christian (Ewan McGregor) comes to Paris to become a writer and fall in love. Plop! His bohemian neighbors, who coincidentally, are looking for a writer to assist them, introduce him to the Moulin Rouge.

The Moulin Rouge is a larger than life club where the wealthy meet up with the young and beautiful. The most beautiful and revered woman, Satine (Nicole Kidman) mistakens Christian for The Duke (Richard Roxburgh). The Duke is a rich man who the Moulin Rouge needs for some new financing. Before she realizes who Christian is, she allows him into her heart. But whoops! The Duke, who walks in on an innocent but guilty looking moment, starts a chain of events that make for the bulk of the film. As a team, Satine, Christian, and their friends, sell The Duke on a play that mirrors the real life adventure of the triangle that has just begun. Christian and Satine begin a secret love affair. While Satine is the happiest that she has ever been, she still has the obligation of The Duke hanging over her head.

Eventually, The Duke catches on to their illicit affair. He makes her choose and her choices have severe ramifications for many of those she loves.

The Great
There were five times during the film that I teared up and/or cried. That's a lot for me. Every single time was around a song.

Here's basically an entire movie constructed around songs that tell the story of the two star-crossed lovers. They pour their hearts and souls out through various songs that both poke fun at love and emphasize the passion within love. Come What May is now in high rotation in my cd player. It's gorgeous and painful and reinforces that fairy tale concept of passion, romance, and love. Ewan and Nicole's voices even sound nice together.

I've never seen a Baz Luhrmann movie. (gasp collectively heard around the world). I don't know if he is considered a good or bad director. What he did here left a remarkable impression on my memory. All the way home from the movie, even though I had the radio playing, snippets of scenes ran through my head.

One of the effects he used that I think made a lasting impression on me was jerky slo-motion of the camera during some of the riveting scenes. This technique was usually used when a character was experiencing some extreme form of emotion.

And if I just want to widdle it down to something basic, I think that this man can tell a good story. The boy/girl/evil force tearing them apart angle is as old as they come (see Cinderella). He executes this movie in such a way that you forget that this is a recycled plot area.

Nicole Kidman turns in a surprizing performance here as Satine. I think that it's the first time I've seen her play a character where she shows a lot of emotion and vulnerability. Her chemistry with Ewan McGregor gives me goose bumps. Either that's really good acting OR they really had a thing going on :). Mrs.-Soon-To-Be-Ex-Cruise took a huge chance with her career. Musicals aren't the most popular genre with the hollywood set. She should be proud. I look forward to seeing more of her work in the future.

I could sit here and write all day about Ewan McGregor. Excuse me, but where has he been all my life??? Admittedly, I've never seen him in anything else. I had no idea how emotive his acting was. When the film opened up, Ewan's character was in present mode, flashing back to the past year. The freshness and naiveness of his character was charming. Humble and poetic, this adorable man slides himself into your heart. You just want to nuzzle up to his chiseled chin and pinch his adorable cheeks. When Ewan looked at Nicole, (singing Elton John's, Your Song), and realized he was in love, it was like an arrow through my heart. Remember your first kiss? Uh-huh. Well, this is just the beginning of many of the moments in the film where your heart will flutter and the goose bumps come out in full force.

The Less Than Great - But Not Devastatingly Bad
In the beginning, I was overwhelmed at times by the bigness (and loudness) of the production. I realize that Mr. Luhrmann did that so that the audience understood the larger than life concept of the Moulin Rouge. At times though, it was distracting.

The End Part II
I'm not sure why so many critics blasted this film and praised others (but hey - we won't be mentioning those particular ones). For those of you who fit the hopeless romantic hat, this is definitely worth seeing in the theater.