Moulin Rouge

View Date: June 1st, 2001

Cast :

Directed by: Baz Luhrmann 

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return”   

Is it possible to translate an emotion into a visual or a sound?  Is it possible to take something felt deep inside the heart and soul, and extricate it so that someone else can understand it by seeing and hearing it?  These are questions that visionary filmmakers have been tackling for ages.  This is usually the goal that lies at the core of any musical film, or movie that relies more on flash and style than substance.  The purpose becomes showing, rather than telling, or even in conjunction with a story being told.  The key to doing this is excess.  Show a lot, no holds barred, because when we feel something like love or passion, it is rarely bridled or controlled, let alone explainable or justifiable to those who cannot relate.  Moulin Rouge is a story of emotion, a story told in excessive, grandiose visuals, music and costumes, with a story that not only holds the scenes together, but actually supports the message that is trying to be told.  Baz Luhrmann is a director who has always had his own style of telling a story.  It is a style that will either be understood, absorbed and raved over, or scorned and scoffed at as confusing, convoluted and excessively elaborate but lacking depth.  In this film, he succeeds in every aspect of what he tries to do.  It is said that less is more, but for Luhrmann, there is no less, and never too much of the more.  It is all necessary in the grand scheme, and Luhrmann’s grand scheme and vision here is truly a breathtaking one.  He utilizes over done caricatures, choreographed dance sequences, curious blending of musical and pop culture and some of the most gorgeous sets and costumes you’ll ever see, to create a true modern musical and a movie that will stand for the ages, for those who get it and let it inside them.  It is understandable and justifiable that there will be those who do not get this film.  The opinion differences will chasm-like, those who love it will rave, those who don’t will rant, but two things will be abundantly consistent.  It will never bore, and it will leave people talking, good or bad, long after the curtain closes.

As is typical with Luhrmann’s short body of work, the story is kept simple to allow for the style of the film come out, but the simplicity never compromises the power of the tale, or the intellect of the dialogue.  McGregor is a struggling author who moves to Paris and through his obscure upstairs neighbor, Toulouse Latrec (Leguizamo) finds his muse, his inspiration and his true love in courtesan Satine (Kidman), She is the star attraction at the Moulin Rouge, a club run by Zidler (Broadbent) but struggling financially.  There financial prayers are answered by The Duke, who offers a lot of money, in return for possession of Kidman.  The remainder of the story, progressed along by some quick, sharp dialogue and fitting song and dance numbers, becomes the new prototype for the modern musical.  It has just the right balance of musical interaction and conversation to make the plot and purpose discernible.  Watch for rousing renditions of Like A Virgin (not on the soundtrack) and Roxanne, along with the melding of several modern classics such as Wings Silly Love Songs, Bowie’s Heroes, Kiss’s I Was Made For Loving You and The Police’s Roxanne.  All perfectly placed, all masterfully executed and each breathtaking and amazing in their own way. I hope that the Academy members with influence retain their long-term memory when it comes to these songs, along with the sets, the costumes, the cinematography, and even the performances.

In a film this grandiose and in your face, it is ironic that the performance that stands out the most is a supporting one.  As the club owner, Broadbent is energetic when he needs to be (as in the opening number, Lady Marmalade, where he cans and plays with best of them) and balances that with a strong dramatic performance while struggling with being Satine’s father figure and a successful businessman.  Amidst all the glamour, there is deep emotional conflict and Broadbent shows it masterfully.  Kidman and McGregor have a very natural chemistry together, and the screen literally sparkles when they are on it.  She is one that I’ve never really been blown away by on screen, but I’ve never denied she is a beautiful woman, Luhrmann captures, along with a rarely seen playful comic side and capped off also by a dramatic flair at times.  McGregor shows off the best pipes of all of them (all performers were forced to take lessons to learn to do their own singing and dancing) belting out a soulful version of Elton John’s Your Song with enough power to revive the popularity of that beautiful tune.  Together, all of the performances portray Luhrmann’s spirit and vision and carry along the translation of simple love, desire and passion into a fashionably amazing and breathtaking vision.

Ultimately, Moulin Rouge is a movie that must not only be seen and heard, but truly felt in the depths of your heart and soul.  Luhrmann has always had a way of transcending time and reality but never forsaking believability and emotion while doing so.  True emotions have no barriers like the films that represent them best. Stories of love and desire exist in every era and his films have shown a consistency of setting a common story during a specific time, but not letting the constraints, of story or era, lock him in or generate any boundaries.  This gives him, and the film, the creative freedom and flexibility for his vision.  Moulin Rouge is his greatest vision to date, a culmination of style, substance, sound, love, passion and desire, from the actors, the story, and the director.  It is a fairy tale brought to live in the setting of Paris.  It is a simple tale of love, given an extravagant background, taken to unbelievable levels, stealing our breath with each vision, tantalizing our ears with each sound and reaching deep inside us to bring all together in a film that will leave anyone who lets it inside them scrambling for a dictionary to look for words to describe it. It will stand up to multiple viewings due to the constant barrage being laid upon us, from the costumes to the pop culture references, to the melding of song lyrics which could make for its own type of game for years to come.  I pray that Oscar does not suffer long-term memory loss next February, and remembers this film heaping on it, all the praise it deserves, for Broadbent, for the costumes, for the sounds, and for the lasting impression that Luhrmann leaves on our souls.  ($$$$$ out of $$$$$)

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