Moulin Rouge – (2001) “The greatest thing that you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return” … but creatures of the underworld cannot afford to love. Nevertheless, a good time had us all. This dazzlingly colorful, schizophrenic, bastard-bohemian-rhapsody concoction of a PG-13 movie was the result of a manic coupling between a musical comedy and a melodrama. In fin de siècle Paris, Christian (Ewan McGregor) composes his sad love story of his former self of the previous year (1899) when he was a young, idealistic writer, accidentally involved with a group of artists led by Toulouse who were putting together a musical they called Spectacular Spectacular to promote their ideals of “Truth! Beauty! Freedom! and Love!”

By means of a mix-up at the hedonistic Moulin Rouge nightclub, Christian gets a very personal interview with Satine (Nicole Kidman), the establishment’s “sparkling diamond” courtesan, who thinks he’s the Duke whom she must satisfy to gain his patronage. The extravaganza, an improvisation of pop songs from the 1960s through ‘80s – including Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music,” Elton John/Bernie Taupin’s “Your Song,” Paul McCartney’s “Silly Love Songs,” Sting’s “Roxanne,” Madonna’s “Material Girl” and “Like a Virgin” – receives the Duke’s approval. Aspiring to become an actress and escape from her life of prostitution, Satine falls in love with Christian, who is already gaga over her charms; but the Duke threatens to change the intended performance’s ending or worse if he doesn’t receive Satine as part of the bargain. But Satine is dying of consumption. This film at times reminded me of The Phantom of the Opera with its play-within-a-play structure and powerful original score by Craig Armstrong, but its Vegas-like glitz, anachronistic collection of tunes, and resorting repeatedly to burlesque removes any serious comparison.

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Copyright © 2007 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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