Moulin Rouge is definately going on my DVD shelf (of DVDs I steal from Blockbuster)

JK

With all the positive reviews on this page I was beginning to wonder whether I'd seen the same film as everyone else.

I opened my local newspaper, the Melbourne Herald-Sun, today however and was greeted by the following news article.
http://heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,2797614%255E2902,00.html

Critics cancan Moulin Rouge 08sep01

LONDON - Moulin Rouge has opened in Britain to reviews ranging from the damning to the delighted.

Most scathing was the Financial Times, which said Nicole Kidman's showgirl role would have been better played by a drag queen, "which might lift the whole tawdry heap of tinsel and glitterdust on to the right tacky level".

"Whatever impact her unclothed form had on playgoers in The Blue Room, here Kidman comes over as a robust Aussie girl willing to be a
sport in groaningly awful material," it said. "She is matched by (Ewan) McGregor who seems to be enjoying himself so much that he scarcely bothers to act".

The Times was scarcely more complimentary, describing Baz Luhrmann's
musical as having the "aural effect of a belligerent drunk with eclectic musical taste and a lot of spare change hogging the pub jukebox".

Critic Barbara Ellen said she left the cinema feeling as drained as a day-old corpse on a morgue table. "It is just about the most self-indulgent, overdone, exhausting confection it has ever been my misfortune to come across stone cold sober," she said. "If you must go to see it, my advice is to go late and go drunk." Kidman was accomplished and beautiful but still one of the world's very few humourless Antipodeans, she said.

But the Evening Standard said musical lovers would be in a state of joy. "Whether it will convert those who don't like the genre to start with, I doubt it," critic Zoe Williams said. AAP

Say no more!

You never know...of course, you may still hate it, but seeing as you will know what sort of film to expect...

I just might do that. It isn't out on video yet so I will have to wait a little while though.

Now:

John Leguizamo

I have to disagree with , I think leguizamo is great in this movie. It's probably his best, I thought he was great.

I borrowed Moulin Rouge on DVD to have another look at the film as it appears that most people's impressions of the film differ from mine.

After viewing the film again and giving the film some thought I still found that the film did not work for me. As I had seen the film before I coped a little better with the faced paced editing at the beginning but I found that the failings that I had identified the first time round were still there.

The film is essentially a collage of ideas. Some worked and some did not work on screen. Here are my list of positives and negatives:

Positives

- The Indian musical idea worked well. I like Bollywood and there is richness in Indian musical film-making that deserves greater recognition.

- Nicole Kidman handled some songs quite well. Ditto for Ewan Mcgregor

- Some of the slower songs (unlike the mishmash of other incomplete songs) are suited to the plot

Negatives

- the pop music chosen was largely used as a gimmick to attract a younger audience rather than as a tool to highlight the subtleties of the plot. To put this issue more precisely the songs were only loosely related to the plot. They songs lacked emotional depth. One feels that the character is singing the song because it is an opportunity for the actor to add his/her gimmick song to the mix.

- The film skims so fast over the plot that there isn't the time for the audience to develop a real emotional empathy with the characters. The plot comes across as a facade presented by actors rather than as something actually happening. Some of the ideas and choices made are so out of sync with the plot and the setting that they are almost laughable when they weren't meant to be.

- Using bits and pices of songs to express ideas or feelings is a gimmick - nothing more. Ask yourself - does the use of this technique really add anything to the plot or the presentation, or is it just a marketing mechanism to sell compilation albums?

- There is almost no 'Frenchness' to this film although it is set in Paris. Take away the words 'Moulin Rouge', a few signs and the fake Eiffel Tower and most people would say the film depicts London. Baz has done to Frenchness in film-making what McDonalds has done to hamburgers - produced a product that is bland and without real flavour. Where is the french sense of the absurd, the joie de vivre, the very essence of french culture? Reduced in this film to a pale shadow of itself if that. Quelle dommage!

- Fast editing works ok sometimes but not for 45 minutes straight.

- Lack of realism to sets

- Baz Luhrmman's obsession with dance floor shots. It just looked like he was trying to remake Strictly Ballroom at times with different costumes. These shots worked in Strictly Ballroom because the dancing was more closely part of the plot but here...

- A lot of the 'comedy' just isn't funny

Enough said - I guess people will make their own decisions but for me there was a lot in this film that didn't look right or work. It is an interesting film in that many new ideas are trialled but a truly great film, both old and new, is one where all the ideas work.

cheers Peter

Ps Here is the Tomatometer rating
CLICK HERE

 |  IP: Logged

Moulin Rouge has been nominated for 4 awards in "The Stinkers" (the world's most comprehensive bad movie ballot).

http://www.thestinkers.com/2001sofar.html

As far as the Golden Globes go here is a quote from the Stinkers website timeline:

"Sunday, December 20, 2001 - Hollywood's biggest ass-kiss fest (The Golden Globes) announces its lame nominees. NO ONE takes these seriously...

and later...

Sunday, January 20, 2002 - Hollywood's biggest ass-kiss fest (The Golden Globes) slimes its way on the air (NBC from 8:00-11:00 p.m.). NO ONE cares..."

I wouldn't go as far as saying that Moulin Rouge is worst film however, although it has been nominated. It generally takes John Travolta in a lead role to win that award.

But I think it has a real chance for worst sense of direction.

cheers Peter

 |  IP: Logged

Merry Christmas everyone

cheers Peter