Moulin Rouge, a story of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and above all, Love.

I went in to Moulin Rouge not knowing what to expect beyond Nicole Kidman in a corset (which is all the motivation one really needs), but I was immediately wrapped up in the story. The visuals were extremely absorbing, as was the narrative style. The characters and cinematography were engaging to the point where I almost couldn't take my eyes off the screen for a second for fear of missing something. Even so, this is a movie I may see again in the theater, and will certainly add to my DVD collection (and despite saying the same thing about Shrek a few weeks ago, this isn't something I normally do).

First off, the movie is very visually rich. Think Baron Munchausen, Romeo + Juliet, and Batman kind of rich. The cinematographic styles used are almost as diverse and oddly compelling as the use and choice of music in the movie, and both are cornerstones of the movie's success.

My brain was so focused on absorbing everything on the screen that I was actually thankful that in such a complex telling, the underlying story itself was kept quite simple. While in Dangerous Liasons the audience has to be on their toes to not miss a vital plot-point, here they are voluntarily keeping pace with the style more than the substance.

The story itself exists on several levels. At the top level is writer/director Baz Luhrmann's (Romeo + Juliet, Strictly Ballroom) lush cinematic window into a stylized 1899 Paris. Beneath that is the main character, Christian's retrospective narration of the story of the Moulin Rouge, written from his own experiences, but nevertheless from an omniscient perspective. His story of the Moulin Rouge is of his own love story, amidst the production of a musical, 'Spectacular, Spectacular!' which mirrors his own story. This recursive nature, and the richness of the Moulin Rouge club itself allow Luhrmann to explore more visual levels. Unlike the almost monotonous visual richness of Batman, Dark City, or Dick Tracy, Moulin Rouge uses extreme contrasts in rich decadence and depravity to ensure that the audience doesn't become desensitized to the visual parade.

On the music front, it's hard for me to say it with a straight face, but the use of modern (well, '80s) top-40 music (Madonna, Nirvana, The Police, Beck, etc.) works remarkably well (unlike in A Knight's Tale). Baz uses the music with real purpose, and relies on it, all the while making it perfectly clear that the use is tongue in cheek. This is the difference between parody (Shrek), farce (Moulin Rouge), and incongruity (Knight's Tale). In a way, the music is a crutch, as in several places Baz uses familiar lyrics to pull on heartstrings already instilled in the audience from years of familiarity with these love songs, while at other times the familiarity of the lyrics, told in such a different setting and with different intent, make for some hilarious scenes ('Like a Virgin' and 'Roxanne' are two notable examples). The film doesn't take itself seriously, though the characters within it take themselves very seriously, (including a truly impressive (and expresive) performance by John Leguizamo as, of all things, a lisping midget Toulouse Lautrec) which makes it all work.

Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor did all their own vocals, and their work was amazing. Before filming The Matrix, the cast studied martial arts for four months solid, and the results were pivotal to the success of the film. In this case, four months of voice work preceeded shooting, and the results are similarly impressive. If Ewan McGregor's career as a Jedi ever falls short, he can always find work as a vocalist. In fact, perhaps Nicole Kidman should try the vocal track. She's actually that good.

Throughout the film I found myself drawing comparisons between Moulin Rouge and other movies. On one hand, it's Baron Munchausen meets Evita. On another, it's Romeo + Juliet meets Rent, or even Rocky Horror meets Curque du Soleil. One comparison I came away with was how this movie could singlehandedly jumpstart the next dance/costume craze (turn of the century can-can club). Like Swing Kids (swing), Strictly Ballroom (formal ballroom), and Flashdance (breakdancing, though not even the main part of the story), this movie may be just the right thing at the right time to spark the next big thing. I know that swing and ballroom are both falling out of the 'in' crowd in the Bay Area, and so far nothing has come along to replace them. We'll see.

On a final note, if you do see this movie (and you should) and you happen to be in the San Francisco area, see it at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland. If you're in SF it's worth the drive to see it here on a Saturday night, replete with a live pipe organ player playing selections from the film for 20 minutes before the show, and a restored theater that is as close as you'll come to the venue portrayed in the movie itself. The paralell was not lost on the audience last night, and made for a remarkable experience.