Moulin Rouge! (2001) (Movie Review)

  When it comes to different categories or a genera of film, whether it be Sci-Fi, action, comedy, horror, and so forth … there’s always that one special film that stands out in my mind as the experience when I first fell in love with the genera. For the movie category of “Musical” … the most special and meaningful to me is the 2001 picture “Moulin Rouge!”. 

Before I saw this movie, I was very dismissive of Musicals, and never gave them much attention or interest. Somehow … it was the right time … I was the right young age … I first viewed “Moulin Rouge!”, and it was like a gateway opening before me, as I was suddenly captivated by musicals, and sought out both newer and older films of the genera after the experience. Aside from my own personal ties to the film, movie musicals in general were kind of a dormant genera for over a decade, with 1987’s “Dirty Dancing” being one of the last really big ones. “Moulin Rouge!” was the wake-up call that movie musicals needed at the time, was a rousing success, gained a devoted fan base, achieved all kinds of acolytes, including a nomination for Best Picture, and got the ball rolling for contemporary musicals to take inspiration from in the decades to follow.  

  The film memorably opens with the 20th Century Fox Logo presented behind stage curtains, and while common place now days for studio logos to be creatively inserted into the film, I remember it feeling so fresh and cool at the time. It’s the dawn of a new century, the 1900's are about to role in, and at this time, an inspired young writer named Christian has moved to Paris to take part in the Bohemian life of truth, beauty, freedom and love. 

While there, Harold Zidler, the owner of the famed dance hall of the Moulin Rouge, is eager to transform their setting into a real theater … and the shows female lead courtesan named Satine dreams of being a real actress. Worlds collide when Christian and Satine meet through a misunderstanding, and sparks a romance of the forbidden nature. Originally, she was supposed to join with the villainous Duke of Worcester, who would fund their theater transition, but now this new romance throws a hurdle into those plans. Thus, Christian proposes to construct a theater production that will honor the Bohemian ideals, and secretly, the story will reflect the romance that’s taking shape behind the curtain. The Duke eventually catches wind of this, and aims to sabotage the narrative to his own liking. Unfortunately, as the two men fight for the hand of Satine, a dark, tragic, and inescapable future looms on the horizon.

  Right off the bat, it’s important to note that this is a movie for viewers with acquired tastes, as this isn’t a subtle movie experience at all. “Moulin Rouge!” is all show and style, with rapid fire editing, constant camera work, massive set-designs, bombastic music, and performances that are just as giant and theatrical as all the technical aspects on display. 

For me, while there are positive merits to say about the characters and narrative, it’s undeniably the films style and presentation that first drew me into this film when I saw it at a young age. In all honesty, I just love looking at this movie, as there’s so much color, so much detail, so much atmosphere, and every time I watch this movie, I notice something new. Honestly, this is a great movie to watch around Valentines Day, not just for the romance in the center, but for all the decorations and imagery on display. If you’re someone like me, who loves holidays, and love watching either movies or specials that get you in the holiday mood … “Moulin Rouge!” has always been one of my biggest to get me in the Valentines Day spirit.

  Despite the historic setting and time period, the whole movie is framed as a real-world that’s parallel with a fantasy world, and at the time, I’d never experienced anything quite like that, certainly not in musicals. Before this movie, the template I perceived for musicals was … characters and narratives play-out like any other movie set in the real world, until a musical number happens, when things get big and theatrical, but then things calm back down to the real-world setting, until the next big number. 

In the case of “Moulin Rouge!”, it’s consistently one big show-stopper, even when it’s not a musical number, and gave this film a unique energy and excitement. Again, it’s not for everyone, and even for me, I feel there are moments when it threatens to buckle under its bombastic presentation. However, what keeps it from going off the rales is how it paces and transitions its tones, depending on what character is taking center stage, or what part of its romantic formula is being utilized in the moment. Writer and director Baz Luhrmann crafted this film as one big love letter to huge theater productions, show-stopping numbers, and Bollywood musicals … it knows it’s over the top … it knows it’s cliched … and it just has a blast going all-out with its presentation. Even the characters are self-aware of their own clichés, and through the stage play, try to manipulate their own respected arc-types. Once again, it’s a concept I’d never seen before, and it just gave this film a unique voice.

  While Baz Luhrmann doesn’t bring anything too original to the films story, he certainly takes the familiar formula of “love at first sight”, tilts it on its side, and crafts something that’s wildly original in both presentation and structure. Aside from the technical details on display, the next big strength to this film that won me over was how the films romantic story is presented from three different perspectives. 

The first is the main story, which mixes the elements of fantasy and reality together. The second are the events being recapped from a grim and tragic future, where the reality has taken its towel, and there’s no more magic. The third is the stage production itself, in which fantasy is real, and a happy ending can last forever, even after curtain call. Representing the two elements are our two lovers … with the boy Christiane living in a fantasy, while the lady Satine is trapped in the real world … yet longs to be set-free into a world of fantasy. As such, the movie cleverly shifts in both tone and style between the perspectives of our two leads. When it’s the perspective of our female lead by-herself, the movie is calm, restrained and more serious. When it’s the perspective of our boy lead, the movie is hyperactive, rapidly edited and goes for fun.

  Another strength to this film is the cast, who are all familiar, yet make these roles some of their finest. I’ll always remember Jim Broadbent best for his charismatic portrayal of Harold Zidler, and John Leguizamo is a welcome presence as Christians best friend Toulouse. Richard Roxburgh chews-up all the scenery as the evil Duke, and while a bit much to stomach at times, he still fits within the highly animated world the film creates. While I’ll always remember Ewan McGregor best as Obi-Wan Kenobi, he still leaves an equally memorable impression as the young writer Christine, who’s all heart and spirit, but needs be ready to grow-up and face the real world after the fantasy ends.

  However, the star who steals the whole show, and gives this film is substance is Nicole Kidman in her Oscar nominated role as Satine. She is so passionate in this portrayal, and runs the whole gambit of different theatrics and emotions. It’s a role that required different levels of acting, as when the character is in the presence of others, she’s already putting on a performance, and needs to be as theatrical as her surroundings … yet, when it’s time for her to step-out of the spot-light, we see the real person who’s been through the ringer and wants to move on, but is incapable of escaping. I’ve admired Nicole Kidman as a very talented actress, and this is the role that proved she could do it all. It’s a performance that’s everything whimsical, tragic, fiery, childish, adult, and she just shines on the screen.

  As for the romance, one could argue it’s built on conventions, and maybe even a little unhealthy … however, there’s still a lot of positive material here. There is chemistry between the two, and it’s something the movie cleverly makes us savor while we can. It’s made very clear from the start that Satine is dying of Tuberculosis, which unfortunately means she’ll never be able to escape, follow her dreams or make a life for herself … but she can have this romance here in the moment, and the benefit of someone loving her for who she is, and not what she is. Because of this, it makes me savor the time these two have together while she’s alive, and she in turn makes the most of the moment. In the end, both their love and the stage production become one entity, and we get a brilliant duel ending with the romance on stage getting a happily ever after, while back stage, reality takes its tragic turn.

 The movie also makes a brilliant decision to utilize contemporary songs that we all recognize, despite being set in a time period when these songs didn’t exist yet. As such, all these characters treat these tunes as something new … and subsequently … it makes these songs feel fresh all over again. It’s a decision that echo’s back to how “Singin’ in the Rain” utilized songs that had been around for decades, and gave them a fresh voice. 

Needless to say, it’s one of my favorite song selections of any musical, and it’s cool to hear so many recognizable tunes get a theatrical makeover. One of the first big show-stoppers is Elton John’s “Your Song”, which is depicted as a fantasy in the clouds, complete with a singing moon. It’s another special moment where the film instantly won me over in style, presentation and choice of music. Other reimagined song numbers for the film include Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit”, The Beatles “All you Need is Love”, Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”, Randy Crawford’s “One Day I'll Fly Away”, and the film especially makes brilliant use of Arizona Zervas “Roxanne”. This song-number alone is a perfect example of intense choreography and insane editing all coming together to create a piece of musical art. There are still some original songs … mostly from our two lovers … including one of my favorite romantic numbers called “Come What May”.

  At last, my favorite song number by far is this films rendition of Queens “The Show must Go On” ... like, I’ve loved Queen for years, and this song was already a solid piece of work … but this movie takes a good song and transcends it into something extraordinary. 

Obviously, it’s another big spectacle that’s beautifully shot, beautifully edited, and sung wonderfully, but there’s just enough substance at the center of this song that thrills me. At this moment in the musical, the female lead is forced to make a very difficult decision that will hurt someone she loves, but it needs to be done in order to prevent something even worse from happening. There’s something about the struggle of moving forward, and facing difficult situations that’s captured fairly well in this song, which is actually kind of inspiring. Also, I just love the way the music builds, and builds in this song. It actually starts on a very somber note, and while it accelerates in melody, it still keeps that same tone hovering overhead. It’s powerful, it’s beautiful, it’s a visual marvel, and it’s personally one of my favorite song numbers I ever seen in a movie.

  This marked the finale of what’s known as Baz Luhrmann’s “Curtain Trilogy”, with 1992’s “Strictly Ballroom” and 1996’s “Romeo + Juliet” proceeding it. Both splendid films, and in general, I always look forward to a new picture from Baz Luhrmann. 

While "Moulin Rouge!" lost its Best Picture trophy to “A Beautiful Mind”, it still came out strong with eight nominations all-together, also including Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Make-up, Best Sound, and it rightfully won two awards for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. In a nut-shell, "Moulin Rouge!" is simply one of the biggest, most entertaining musical spectacles I’ve ever seen … celebrating the art of theatrical musicals, with big song numbers, big cinematography, big emotions, big costumes, big set designs, and features some of my favorite song numbers from any musical. I loved this movie when I first saw it as a young teenager, I love it more every time I watch it, and it’s the movie experience that got me to fall in love with musicals in general.

Thanks for reading my review of the 2001 Musical Classic “Moulin Rouge!” … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!