|
Moulin Rouge Main Cast:
Director: Baz Luhrmann Rating: 5 Stars - Must be seen. Plot Summary: Against his father’s advice Christian (Ewan McGregor) moves into a small room in the seedy Monmarte district of Paris near the Moulin Rouge club. Christian is a young naive writer who wants to write about life and love, something he admits that he knows nothing about. When a group of actors drop in (literally), Christian is persuaded to join them as their writer. He must write a musical for Zidler (Jim Broadbent) the owner of the Moulin Rouge. With the money provided by the Duke of Monroth (Richard Roxburgh) Zidler has commissioned the musical “Spectacular Spectacular” in an attempt to upgrade his club. Christian and his new friends go to the Moulin Rouge to tell Zidler and the Duke what they have planned for the musical. This is when Christian first meets the beautiful Satine (Nicole Kidman) and falls in love with her. But as the lead performer at the Moulin Rouge she must never fall in love. Review: Set in the early 1900’s this musical love story is an extraordinary original mix of filmmaking, theatre and rock video. From the explosive start to the end there is movement, colour, music, humour, drama, passion and emotion. There are great sets and costumes all colourful and dazzling. And of course there is the music, so many hits one after the other and when the actors are not singing they are quoting the lyrics of songs. Baz Luhrmann must have had great fun picking out all the songs that he wanted in the film. Some songs are played in their entirety while others only get a line or two. The camera work can be distracting at times as it jumps about in a rock video fashion and it can be a bit exhausting trying to keep up. It is the type of film that you will either love or hate most of you will be swept along on a weird but wonderful celebration of music while the rest will be wondering what’s it all about. Nicole Kidman gives an impressive performance as Satine. Ewan McGregor has a certain charm as the naïve Christian. Both Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor can sing but it is more about the songs and music that the voices that sing them. Jim Broadbent gives a great over-the-top theatrical performance as the Zidler, the owner of the Moulin Rouge. Lasting thought: The greatest thing you can ever do is to love and be loved in return. Reviewed by Niall Quinn, PremierMovieReviews 2001 |