Overall Rating
 Awesome: 59.51%
Worth A Look: 11.72%
Just Average: 4.3%
Pretty Crappy: 8.07%
Sucks: 16.41%
18 reviews, 660 user ratings
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Moulin Rouge! |
by Nuwanda
"Elegantly Wasted"

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In a word, “Moulin Rouge” is an experience. Whether it is a bad one, or a good one, it is still a filmic event. Even though I was disenchanted with the beat-to-death storyline, I couldn’t help but smile at the clever integration of well-known pop lyrics, and feel slightly enamoured with “Moulin Rouge” in general. However, this film is essentially a fabulous production squandered on yet another love triangle.The film starts off with a sweeping pan of Paris in the year 1900. It is a dark, dreary, rather ‘Burton-esque’ picture of sin and id-like behavior. Predominantly so, in the seedy district where the famous club “Moulin Rouge” is perched with it’s garish windmill entrance, and amoral delights awaiting clients inside.
During the first musical scene, which takes place inside the club, I found myself grinding my teeth at the oh-so annoying quick edits. I couldn’t get a glimpse of anything for more than half a second before it cut to something else, then something else, and so on. It made me think that the director was trying to hide something. Like maybe these people can’t dance, or lip-sync? But, that’s where the disappointment in the filming aspect of the movie ends.
Enter Satine, the diamond of all diamonds, or something else that they referred to her as. At any rate, this chick is the queen bee of the cortisone bunch, the cat’s meow. Basically, she’s the one that all the men want to bang.
She’s beautiful, she can sing, and she immediately catches the eye of young Christian, charmingly portrayed by Ewan MacGregor, who is at the club to try and win her approval as the new writer for a show she is working on. During a most enjoyable scene in which Christian first speaks, and then sings, Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Your Song”, they fall immediately in love. Even I, being ‘love-cynic extraordinaire’, fell for it.
Ah, but alas. It is not so easy as that. The evil Duke wants Satine to himself, and will stop at nothing to get her in his dastardly clutches. And of course, Satine is forced into a quasi-relationship with this man because he is the primary financial backer of her and Christian’s production.
Satine, torn between true love and her acute desire to be a ‘real’ actress, actively loves Christian and pretends to be loyal to the Duke, in between bouts of coughing up blood.
Any idea where this is heading?
If I wasn’t so annoyingly interested in originality, I could let this film stand on the production and mise-en-scene alone and call it outstanding. Unfortunately, I’m not won over as easily as that.Stunningly creative, beautifully shot, and chock full of talent, ‘Moulin Rouge’, with even a remotely unique story, would have been best film so far this year. As it stands, it is merely enjoyable, with some definitely hyper-enjoyable spots.
Special thanks to Canadian rockers 54-40 for the title of the review.
link directly to this review at https://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=4303&reviewer=116 originally posted: 06/18/01 22:44:28
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For more in the Australian series, click here.
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USA 01-Jun-2001 (PG-13) DVD: 14-Jan-2003
UK 07-Sep-2001 (12)
Australia 31-May-2001 (M)
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