Even as someone who rates this so highly, it is easy to see why so many may be put off. From the opening scene, this is a film utterly committed to its theatrical style and format, making no concessions to those who may be put off by the excess and editing style that dominates the opening scenes and many that follow. And yet this is not a film out of control - far from it, the format perfectly suits the environment within which this musical takes place and each of these moments serves the story and stage format that Luhrmann is trying to adhere to. Nor is it these scenes that remain with you at the end - fortunately for a film whose essential message is about the power of love, it is in the central love story that the film’s greatest strength lies. Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman have yet to better their performances here and one would have to be a hardened cynic not to be swayed by their romance. Each of their musical moments together are beautifully played and so committed are they to playing their romance straight, that there is a genuine feel to their chemistry. It is also in these scenes where Luhrmann alters the frenetic style, allowing for these quieter moments to shine. The choreography is superb and the film is edited to within an inch of its life, the highlight of which is a stunning rendition of Sting’s "Roxanne" to a tango (though it is equally likely that the film’s version of Madonna’s "Like A Virgin" will linger in the memory too, but for different reasons). Luhrmann's finest film to date.

"Moulin Rouge!" has always been one of the films I loathed when I was younger. And here I am, reevaluating it positively in the Year of Our Lord MMXXIII. The ostentation and extremization of all the clichés of melodrama, the unapologetically kitsch presentation, the epileptic '90s MTV-style editing… all factors that might sound derogatory, but instead become added values in this absurd operation undertaken by Luhrmann and company. A full commitment to bad taste in every detail, yet it never ends up becoming a parody. On the contrary, it’s a movie that in many ways dignified an iconography that we may now tend to sweep under the rug, but that will likely one day be aligned with the great classics of cinema. At times, it might even be compared to one of Disney’s finest classics, complete with hyper-choreographed musical sequences and the Bohemians working as the fairies/animal sidekicks to the protagonist.

You might think, can the presentation alone compensate for the utter stupidity of the story narrated? Yes and no. Despite the tight pace of the opening scenes, which first overwhelms and then intoxicates the audience, the film suffers from an interminable second act that feels obnoxious to say the least, especially when Kidman suddenly goes from Paris’ most known prostitute to a barefooted nun. The vocal performances of the two leads do not help either, suffering from an unwelcoming stiffness in what was supposed to work as the most emotional beats of the film. Fortunately, it all picks up in the final moments.

Moulin Rouge has many things to like about it, but comes off as inconsistent at times.

All of the actors were top notch. I believe it was Nicole Kidman's best performance of her career. Ewan
McGregor usually doesn't add a lot of depth to his characters, but in this movie it was ample. Jim Broadbent was charismatic and Richard Roxburgh was a very convincing pervert, right down to his posture. I liked how well they developed each of these characters. The rest of the actors were also excellent, but the story didn't lend much depth to their character, and they simply came off as a backdrop or environment for the main four, often becoming a writers convenience or becoming a set of eyes we could see through from the outside looking in.

There were so many parts I enjoyed about this movie, more particularly the segments where Kidman and McGregor's relationship was explored. This made for a great second act of the movie. The first and third act I felt suffered from Baz Luhrmann's rapid, almost epileptic, editing style. His style is not not for everyone, but particularly in this movie, it didn't allow for much depth of the movie in the first and third act and came off as flashy and showy. This created pacing issues that I felt if he had slowed down and focused more on the characters instead of fitting as many shots into the move that he could, the story would have flowed a lot better.

The other major inconsistency of the movie was the theme it was building towards, and the theme it ultimately landed on. Throughout the entire movie, they are building a theme of faith in love no matter what the outcome, but the last minute and a half of the movie turns it into a tragedy that I felt was unwarranted and unearned. This would have been a palpable ending if the movie showed the characters doubting that maybe love wasn't enough, and then a tragedy strikes that proves the point. But instead we have the ending segment that shows us that all this guy's belief in love was absolutely for not, and that we are left to assume he must have been faking his belief the entire time, because it sure didn't seem like enough for him. This isn't about always getting a happy ending, it's about not getting an ending that was a cheap and quick way to evoke a particular emotion in the audience without really building into. It felt rushed, and again, unearned. (And I'm not talking about the actual event, but more about how the event affected the character.)

Otherwise, I really wanted to enjoy this movie more than I did. An excellent second act with outstanding performances and likable characters, but with the pacing issues and inconsistencies in building a movie that naturally flowed from one idea to the next keeps me from rating it higher. All in all, though, a fairly enjoyable and rewatch able film nonetheless.

I could go on why I enjoyed this film - heck, I reviewed this 3 times on Letterbox!
But the one simple word I can best describe Moulin Rouge, is poignant. This film give a poignant feeling whenever I get the chance to see this it. The glits, the glamour, the music & the story. This is the perfect love story.
Ewan McGreggor and Nicole Kidman were terrific.

I recommend this film as a Valentine's treat!

I was really disappointed in this movie. I generally like musicals and have enjoyed many of them in the last several years (La La Land, The Greatest Showman and Mama Mia! Here We Go Again, to name a few). In reading the reviews for this film I can see that it definitely has a love-it-or-hate-it feel to it and you can count me in the latter. Roger Ebert described the experience of watching it as "like being trapped in an elevator with the circus". Inexplicably he thought this was would be a good thing. And therein is the biggest problem that I had with it - at times it was complete sensory overload (especially the first 20 minutes). Is it impressive on some level? Sure, I guess it is if you're into seeing repeated tight shots of a lot of people dancing. It also tried to add a comedic feel in some of the dancing scenes - again, it was sensory overload. The movie's best scenes were the ones where there was little production and instead focused on the acting and singing. I get the the film is supposed to be campy but it can't have it both ways. The cheese and the sensory overload completely took away from the storytelling. I could actually see this being a decent stage musical once the over-the-top production is removed.

I've also seen reviews where people said that despite its flaws it is an original idea. I can't classify a musical that re-interprets someone else's music as being "original".

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