MOULIN ROUGE
Released: May 18, 2001
From the man who brought us the unconventional "Strictly Ballroom" and his unique take on "Romeo + Juliet" comes this equally non-Hollywood entry called "Moulin Rouge". A poet played by Ewan McGregor falls for a beautiful courtesan (Nicole Kidman) whom a jealous duke covets in this stylish musical, with music drawn from familiar 20th century sources. For a concept that could have easily fallen flat on its celluloid face this is a film that takes chances and never lets up on its frantic pacing to catch our breath. Credit goes to director Baz Luhrmann who takes a scruffy McGregor and just divorced Kidman and turns them into singing, dancing and running energy machines. Both McGregor and Kidman are stellar. They excell in roles that lesser actors would collapse from in sheer exhaustion. The support cast is killer too - John Leguizamo especially, as Toulouse Lautrec. The two leads sing and what we hear on screen is actually them, not "voice doubles". I'm sure people not even interested in musicals will enjoy "Moulin Rouge". I left the theatre pumped up and very impressed. Then later that day I saw "The Animal" with Rob Schneider.
126 Minutes
20th Century Fox