In the first fifteen minutes or so, the audience is fully thrust into the whiz-bang world Baz Luhrmann is immersing himself and the viewer into. This depiction of the real-life cabaret at the turn of the 20th century has this extremely distinctive look to it, with the movie frequently having production design choices that feel informed by Luc Besson's ultra-colorful and ultra-stylized tendencies from The Fifth Element combined with the rapid-fire editing of Guy Ritchie's movies mixed in with a horde of late 20th century pop hits and then laced with a lot of cocaine. The result? Surprisingly, pretty exhilarating.
What we have here is a love story, a classical one that Luhrmann and Craig Pearce's script smartly frames in an old-timey snark-free manner that allows it to follow conventional rules of cinematic romantic relationships (namely that the two romantic leads falls in love super quickly) and make it feel appropriate for this story. The two leads in question are an aspiring writer, Christian (Ewan McGregor), who, through some miscommunication, spends some time alone with a high-profile dancer from the Moulin Rouge cabaret named Satine (Nicole Kidman). Their inadvertent rendezvous catches the ire of a duke (Richard Roxburgh) who was supposed to be wooed by Satine and, in the process, help clear up the cabarets financial problems.
When he thinks Satine is cheating on him for Christian, Christian and his pals come up with a plan to help ease the Duke's worries by telling the Duke they're working with Satine and the cabaret on a new play the Duke can finance and then reap the inevitable huge financial rewards the show pulls in. While working on this play(which works as an obvious allegory for the romance between the two leads in the movie) for an extended period of time, Christian and Satine grow closer and closer as they belt out a number of hit pop songs to express their affections for each other, though the Duke's suspicions of the two possibly having an affair also begins to grow....
Remember how I mentioned the buoyant atmosphere of this movie gets established from the first fifteen minutes or so of footage? That whirlwind of imagery that has bright colors and introductions for various artsy individuals (including one played by John Leguizamo) all accompanied by Ewan McGregor narration sets the stage for the cavalcade of characters, information and music you're about to experience in the rest of the movie. Describing it out like this makes this opening scene of Moul Rouge! sound like an exhausting journey, but it's honestly pretty exciting, an immediately distinct vision that gets one eager to see what other rousing vibrancy Luhrmann has in store for both the audience and the characters.
Turns out, there's plenty of amazing scenes still to come, all of them accompanied by glorious production design that feels like the best kind of eye candy. Colors abound on the screen and you immediately get, just by looking at one still image of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, why people would be drawn to it, it looks like gorgeous exuberant paradise even without people singing and dancing in it. Doing all of that singing and dancing is an impressive cast that, despite how unorthodox the whole motion picture is, manage to fit into Luhrmann's stylized vision of this era like a glove. Whether it's belting out songs or engaging in humor and dramatic moments that are both super over-the-top, the actors assembled here equip themselves splendidly to the material.
Ewan McGregor translates the youthful energy that worked so well for him in Trainspotting into a more positive character direction here as his portrayal of Christian makes the guy's slavish devotion to the very concept of love feel not only authentic but a cause you can't help but join him in rooting for. He also has amazing chemistry with Nicole Kidman, who gives maybe my favorite performance of hers in her lead role as a woman who longs for fame but is constantly being hindered by elements beyond her control, namely a sickness she's unaware of. I love how Kidman plays Satine in her initial scenes of interacting with Christian, as this person who's used to adjusting her personalities for others for financial gain now has the chance to be around someone who just wants her to be herself. The emotions drummed up by that specific situation are the ones Kidman gives effervescent life to.
And then, there's the music. This is a jukebox musical, which can either result in something super fun and enjoyable like Mamma Mia! or something devoid of its own personality like Sing. What's awesome here is that Luhrmann hasn't just plucked up a bunch of generic Billboard chart-toppers but rather tunes that fit into the more rebellious nature of the Moulin Rouge and the various artist characters in the story inhabit. Our protagonists here live by the Bohemian lifestyle that emphasizes the notions of art and love and aren't afraid to defy corrupt authority (like the villainous Duke) to live by those ideals and it's nice that characters who go against the grain are accompanied by songs that had a similarly edgy vibe to them when they were released. David Bowie, for instance (whose song Heroes gets utilized heavily), feels like a perfect musical fit for that kind of story and his song in this movie is one of the many tunes in Moulin Rouge! that helps reinforce its captivating themes and contributes to its intoxicatingly lively atmosphere. My favorite of the musical numbers though may be Ewan McGregor's rendition of Elton John's Your Song, a spine-chillingly beautiful take on that classic tune that kicks of the lead romance between him and Satine on a gorgeous note. What can I say? Ya can't beat a good love song sometimes and Moulin Rouge! understands the power of a riveting romance and amazing musical numbers impeccably well.
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