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Review Archive
FILMS
Moulin Rouge! (2001)If I haven't mentioned it before, I'll let you in on a little secret: I have two people who live inside me. It gets crowded on occasion, especially when they both want to voice their opinions, completely ignoring me—the guy who's supposedly in charge. Key word here is "supposedly."
The first of the two is a young man who enjoys different things solely based on the fact that they are different. Any film that takes a chance, anything other than banal bread-and-butter movies. He was probably a film major in college. I don't know as we never really went through the "getting to know you phase." You might imagine this young man looking like me, however, he enjoys wearing a beret for the attention it garners. Small, independent films, art-house stylings, low-budget but sincere cinema ... these are the meat and potatoes of his film-diet.
And then there's the other one; this guy is diametrically opposed to everything Beret Boy thinks and feels. He hates change like an old man hates people. You can almost hear him now, "Why, back in my day, shit cost only a dime!" Gramps likes movies that he knows, even if he hasn't seen them before. He likes stories that are interesting and compelling, but knows right from the get-go how it'll end. To him, the ending doesn't matter—it's the journey that's enjoyable. It's important to note, however, that he won't abide by bad storytelling or poor acting or lazy directing—to him, those should be shunned at all costs. He prefers the comfortable, obvious stories that make him work a little. But only a little.
A movie like Moulin Rouge! sends these two men to their separate corners to wait for the announcer to leave the ring. When the bell dings they come out swinging with meaty-fisted opinions, trying to persuade me to their way of thinking.
This seems an awful long way to go, doesn't it? The analogy, I mean. Basically, I'm railing here, right? It appears that I'm the consummate English major, always prepared to give the consummate English major answer of, "I think there's a gray area."
Gastrointestinal boxers and English majors aside, I enjoyed Moulin Rouge! Or rather, I enjoyed most of it.
There really should be a warning or disclaimer or something before the opening scene. "Children and pregnant women should not watch the first 15 minutes of this film." Or, "Warning! Brace yourselves for some dizzying camera movements. Not for the faint of heart." Please note that I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying that I wasn't prepared to be tossed headfirst into the cinematic equivalent of a laundry machine prepped for spin cycled. I was eating dinner and every time I took a bite, I missed two takes. I actually had to stop the movie, rewind it, and finish dinner, just so I wouldn't miss most of what was happening. (Granted, this is not the fault of the film's, I'm just relaying my experience in watching it.) What I'm saying is that this movie demands your utmost attention. At all times. Especially during the first 10 to 15 minutes. Once I got acclimated to the climate of Moulin Rouge!, and realized what I was in for (and ignored my inner Grampa Crotchety), I found this film thoroughly enjoyable.
(Fair spoiler warning: Stop reading if you don't want to know anything about the plot.)
Moulin Rouge! is a simple love story that, in some ways, mimics the story of Orpheus. It's the story of a young, naive writer's descend into the underworld, that is, the seamy side Paris to find his girl. From the very first scene we know that it is a tragic love story. Christian, the young writer, tells us that his love, Satine is dead. Everything else is a flashback.
The beauty of this story, and the way in which it's told, lay in the fact that—even though the audience knows this death is a foregone conclusion—we hope that it doesn't happen. (Kind of like watching Titanic and hoping that the boat won't sink.) What a bunch of silly romantics we are. It's very interesting to note, however, that even until the last few minutes of the film, we don't know how Satine dies. Will it be her illness that does her in? Or will it be the scorned Duke Monroth who has her killed?
As you can see, there's parts of this film that Beret Boy loves and parts of this film that Grampa Crotchety loves. It's a simple story, told in a new and sometimes complex, always artsy way. But mostly Grampa Crotchety hates this movie. Which is OK with me. I cast my lots in with Beret Boy on Moulin Rouge!. It's a good film—albiet different and strange than almost anything I've ever seen before, but this does not preclude it from being good. It just takes me a moment to warm up to the film. And by that, I mean, lock Grampa Crotchety in the basement of my psyche and wait until he stops crying to be let out.
It's important to note that both Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor did their own singing in this film. I'm fairly certain that, by now, this is common knowledge to anyone who's heard of Moulin Rouge!. Most of the time, I'd consider this a train-wreck decision on the director's part, but both Kidman and McGregor have incredible voices. Not just good. Not just passable. But honest-to-God, incredible singing voices. Well, slap me and call me Suzy—I was blown away! When McGregor starts into Elton John's "Your Song" and gets to the line where he says, "how wonderful life is while you're in the world," ....
Well, damnit if that doesn't give me goose bumps. Mock if you will, but there is genuine emotion in his singing. I actually felt these two people loved one another. Most of the time, while watching a film, I understand that two people love one another, but rarely does the writing or acting penetrate to my raw emotions like it did in Moulin Rouge!. For this alone, I'd have to praise the film.
The camera absolutely loves Nicole Kidman in this movie. She looks stunning. In the scene where she's going to the Duke's house to make love to him, she's wearing this black dress that—against her dove-like skin—is a wonderful contrast. She's got great ... (oh wait, my wife reads this website) ...great, um, great, er....singing talent. (Love ya, hon!)
Some times this movie is funny, while at other times it's sincere and romantic, and at yet other times it's completely absurd—bordering the zaniness of any Monty Python sketch. If you want to enjoy Moulin Rouge! my best advice to you is to accept it for what is it. No amount of grumping or cajoling will change what's onscreen. If you sit back and let the film suck you in, wrap itself around you (and believe me, it has this ability) you'll find yourself thoroughly enjoying this film.
If you'll permit me another analogy, Moulin Rouge! is like going out dancing with a very dramatic, very openly gay friend. The type of gay man who calls both girls and boys "darling" or uses the word "fabulous" like it was going out of style. He has a lot of flair and fashion and funk and flamboyance and, most importantly, he has fun. This is Moulin Rouge!. It can either make you feel uncomfortable and awkward, or you can realize that—since you can't go home because he has the keys—you may as well enjoy yourself. And then 15 minutes pass and you realize that you're having fun in spite of yourself.
(And please, I mean no offense by the above analogy. It's just an analogy. Anyway, I've never trusted anyone who tries to make a point with an analogy.)
Now, please excuse me—I'm off to let Grampa Crotchety out of the basement.
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