In the 1990's, and well into the 00's, there has been a severe lack of fresh, new musicals to re-vitalize what used to be one of the most revered forms of entertainment. Whether it be Broadway's lackluster funk that has caused show after show to fold, or Hollywood's inability to bring more than a select few titles to the silver screen, the need has never been greater to infuse life into the near-dead genre.
Critics and moviegoers alike have heralded Moulin Rouge! as the first film in decades to re-invent the musical as a force to be reckoned with. Its popularity has expanded steadily over the past year, and its potency is demonstrated in its many Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. This is a momentous step forward for musicals, and in this regard Moulin Rouge! has hopefully helped wedge the door open for more to be made in the near future.
Let's cut to the chase. This is a love-it-or-hate-it movie, and I think it's safe to say that speaking for myself, I could not get into this picture at any step of the way. That's not to say it's not a valiant attempt -- it is -- but this is clearly not for all tastes, and even those who adore musicals may find little to cheer about. Although I suspected quite early into the picture it wasn't hitting the mark, a smiling, singing full moon pretty much sealed the deal for me.
It's set in Paris circa 1899, at the famous Moulin Rouge nightclub. Ewan McGregor is Christian, a writer who has yet to fall in love. Cue Nicole Kidman as Satine, the main draw at the club as a singer and lady of the night. She first assumes Christian is the Duke (Richard Roxburgh), and after a cat-and-mouse game of loves-me/loves-me-not ordeals, they decide they are star-crossed lovers.
One of the major obstacles I found was the conscious decision to utilize rapid editing in order to compensate for a lack of content. Editor Jill Babcock must have been stressed beyond belief in compiling the dizzying pace that characterizes nearly every scene. However, one of the joys of musicals is not only to root for the principals, but to give the supporting characters some colour. And while Moulin Rouge! is a colourful movie in terms of costumes, sets and art direction, there are virtually no subplots to speak of. Hence, the snappy, flashy cuts actually become monotonous after a while due to the dragging nature of the story. Another problem I had was that Christian and Satine speak at length about love, but it never really seems like they are in love. They say the word so often that they -- like the audience -- barely recognize it when it finally occurs between them.
Despite the phony backdrops and awkward sound effects throughout the picture, I was still very much impressed with director Baz Luhrmann's vision and ability to create an entirely different environment. As co-writer of the screenplay, he has elevated the term "anachronism" to new heights. With songs like "Roxanne", "Like A Virgin" and "Heroes", he takes a big risk in utilizing already familiar pop songs as his source material. A lot hinges on whether one believes the song choices fit like a glove or jar like fingernails on a chalkboard. While I applaud Luhrmann's creativity in these revised versions of classics, only one worked for me, and that was Queen's immortal "The Show Must Go On". Everything else, from "The Sound of Music" to "Your Song", from "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to "The Rhythm of the Night" was more of an obvious novelty than a fresh way of looking at these tunes. Another small point was that Madonna and David Bowie were featured a couple of times, and I think it might have worked better using either only one song apiece, or making the whole score based on one particular entertainer. The repetition of the same pop artists connotates an inability to find any other source material and a limited knowledge of music.
The best actors in Moulin Rouge! are Jim Broadbent (Iris) as the wild Zidler and McGregor in a sincere performance that is refreshingly sane compared to the other over-the-top characters. Nicole Kidman is okay as the ill singer who faints and coughs at least a dozen times throughout the movie, but her first few scenes where she has some kind of weird mood swing disorder that can only be indicative of multiple personalities, prevented me from sympathesizing with her beyond a perfunctory capability. One scene late in the movie is especially trying as Kidman must enact the Runaway Little Doggie technique. You know, that's the one where she has to cast her loved one away in order to save them.
I've tried to make this review as cordial as possible, because I can see why a lot of people could like this film. It's got an abundance of energy and, like Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, will probably generate a lot of discussion over time, which is great. I, however, consider the cartoon-like approach as an insult to the average moviegoer, because it implies that musicals can't be enjoyed by people with short attention spans. When film critic Roger Ebert wrote his review of Armageddon, he called it the first feature length music video; next to Moulin Rouge! though, Armageddon looks like a PBS documentary. I guess I'd rather take the PBS documentary anyday.
