Review of Moulin Rouge! (2001) by Ben L — 09 Mar 2017

Baz Luhrman was a great director for this big spectacle musical. The bright and flashy music numbers were a sight to behold and he captured so many memorable visuals. It definitely deserved Oscars for costume and set design. I also don't mind the blend of modern music in a film set in the past, particularly when they were used so well to further the story.

The beginning of this movie was a struggle, because it is presented in a scatterbrained fashion. I was trying to cling to the setup of the story but they are bouncing around like crazy and I was worried it would lose me entirely. This wackiness returns a few times throughout the movie and it was always jarring and took me some time to adjust to it. I wasn't annoyed by it, I simply felt confused.

The love story and the way it is blended into the play is what hooked me. I was touched by it and thought McGregor, Kidman, and Richard Roxburgh all played their parts brilliantly. I'll admit that my eyes welled up by the end because I was so deeply invested in the story. I still can't decide if I liked the fact that the end was spoiled at the very beginning as part of the framing device, though. On the one hand it might have softened the blow so I wasn't upset by it, but on the other hand it might have been even more powerful if I didn't see it coming.

The music was good, and I thought the singers were pretty great across the board. One struggle was the fact that some of the better songs I wanted to go on longer. They would transition out of the songs so fast that I was often left wanting more. And with other songs I felt they repeated too often. There was at least one moment in the film when I thought "this again?" But these complaints don't detract from the story that I loved and the visuals that were so striking. I'd gladly watch Moulin Rouge again any time. It was romantic, humorous and fun which is a great combo.