Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)
Jim Broadbent in Moulin Rouge!
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, John Leguizamo, Richard Roxburgh, Garry McDonald, Jacek Koman, Matthew Whittet, Kerry Walker, Caroline O'Connor, David Wenham, Kylie Minogue, Deobia Oparei. Screenplay: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce. Cinematography: Donald McAlpine. Production design: Catherine Martin. Film editing: Jill Bilcock. Music: Craig Armstrong. Costume design: Manolo Blahnik, Catherine Martin, Angus Strathie
At the end of 2001, film critics as usual made their lists of the 10 best and 10 worst movies of the year. Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! wound up on lots of both lists. Well, it’s that kind of movie: It either exhilarates you or exhausts you. I have a bent toward directors who have their own idiosyncratic visions, even if the idiosyncrasies can be annoying. So I will confess to being swept away by the tide of images and sounds that Luhrmann crafts for his film. I wouldn’t want every movie to be like it, but for me, Moulin Rouge! is fun to watch – not often, but maybe every 10 years or so. There are those who think that Luhrmann confuses noise with life, and I get that objection, but his pastiche musical, a blend of Bollywood and Busby Berkeley filtered through what MTV used to be, has the kind of energy you don’t see very often, and it’s a beautiful showcase for Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, not to mention the production design of Catherine Martin, the cinematography of Donald McAlpine, and the film editing of Jill Bilcock that brings their work into a dazzling flurry of images. The objection that the film is all images – i.e., camera tricks and cutting – is probably justified, as is the observation that none of the leads is a real singer or dancer – McGregor is more a shouter than a singer, and Kidman’s moves are poses strung in sequence by the editor. But there’s no market for Freds, Gingers, Judys, and Genes anymore, so finding people with star quality who can also sing and dance is tougher than it used to be.
