"The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Know, Is Just To Love And Be Loved In Return."
Well what can I say? When I rented this movie, I knew next to nothing about it. Except for the song Lady Marmalade performed by Missy Elliot, Mya, Pink, Lil' Kim, and Christina Aguilera, and you all know I like that song(i.e. it's on my profile.), and even the song had almost nothing to do with the movie. This movie was quite an..... Extravagent, that's the word that sums it up, and if I sound ominous with that statement, then I give the wrong message. This is an incredible movie.
The Director and writer of this movie is Baz Luhrmann, who has not directed that many things. He also works with writer Craig Pearce, and they bring us such an extravagent and delightful musical performance. It's an awesome movie, and such vision they had with creating this story. It all worked out very good for them, and they really have quite the imagination to come with a story that is as insane and whacky as this one is, and their calls were definitely well made.
The visuals in this movie are incredible, it's really the only word to describe them. Everything is done so brilliantly it's hard to know where to begin. I like the look of the different scenes, it's like cheerful colors, but at the same time very ominous, and that's a cool effect. Also there are some weird magic like things that happen that are done very good, and it's all a very spectacular thing to see. It really ties together nicely with the camera angles that are used, and that's another thing that makes the visuals so good.
The storyline is one that has a powerful message, however scattered around it may be. Basically, a young man falls in love with a woman whom he cannot have, and at the same time someone else wants her, and they must fight to keep it alive. It's all about the fact that true love still exists and that it's always out there, it's very touching. This is also one of the very few movies that has ever made me outright bawl in it. You'll see why, but it's all so overwhelming of a movie, but in a good way. Most people use that word in a bad way, but not me, this time I say it with complete happiness.
Ewan McGregor, whom I've liked ever since I saw him in Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, stars in the lead of this movie as a young british man who has traveled to Paris to pursue his career in writing. His name is Christian. When he arrives in Paris, with the ideals of the new Bohemian revolution in his head, where he did not even know they resided. He meets a troupe of actors and singers who convince him to write for them, and they take him to a very extravagent and famous place called Moulin Rouge. It's basically like a show that has lots of beautiful women. He falls in love instantly with the center of attention, Satine, but alas she is a woman that he cannot have because she is already willed to someone else. Well when she falls in love with him, they must hide their love from everyone. Ewan McGregor does an excellent job in this movie, and his role is so convincing. He's a very good actor when it comes to these hopeful romantic characters, and that really helps the movie in it's believability.
Nicole Kidman plays the main lady with whom Christian falls in love with, Satine. Satine is a woman who is controlled by the owner of the Moulin Rouge club, but it's only because he has raised her since she was a child. She is to meet and seduce The Duke, a man who will invest in the Moulin Rouge club and bring them alot of money. She accidently tries to seduce the wrong man though. This man turns out to be Christian, who sings to her and she immediately falls in love with him, but she does eventually get to The Duke, who demmands her as his, and this makes her love for Christian moot. She loves him, but can do nothing about it. She is also a woman who is very sick and is dying from it, but she does not realize it. Satine's is a very emotional role, and Nicole Kidman, whom I've liked ever since I first saw her in movies, does an excellent job portraying her. She really was the perfect choice for this character.
John Leguizamo plays a short man named Toulouse-Lautrec. Toulouse-Lautrec is the leader of the Bohemian troupe that convinces Christian to join them in their play writing fantasy. However Toulouse is not in good terms with Harold Zidler, the owner of the Moulin Rouge club, where Toulouse wants to perform. Toulouse is also a drunk, but he's very good hearted and he likes to take the roles in plays that no one really would like to take. He's a very good guy and acts as a sort of mentor to Christian throughout the whole entire movie. He is all for the ideals and standards of the Bohemians, which is that true love is the only thing that matters in the world, and that you should be able to express yourself freely through the arts, kind of hokey I know, but it works. John Leguizamo, whom I've only seen in Spawn which is a much different role than this, does an excellent job in this role, and he's probably the funniest character to see in it.
Jim Broadbent plays the very strange yet likable owner of the Moulin Rouge night club, Harold Zidler. Harold Zidler is really a nice guy at heart, but he does not like the ways and ideals of the whole Bohemian lifestyle that seem to be popping up everywhere, that is the main reason he does not like Toulouse-Lautrec. He has arranged a special deal between himself and a man named The Duke. The Duke will invest in his business, but he will get his most famous star, Satine. He then discovers that Satine is dying of a terrible cold, and that she has a love affair with a bohemian writer. He discovers this one night with The Duke, and they put together a story to keep The Duke happy, and that makes it so that they have to put together a big show, that Harold thinks will work, and it even helps him tolerate Toulouse-Lautrec. However he has to hardball Satine and Christian when The Duke proves to be too much of a handful for him. John Leguizam does an excellent job in this movie, and his character is pretty funny to see, and he was definitely a great casting choice for the movie.
Richard Roxburgh, whom I've liked since I watched Van Helsing, plays the ever belligerent character known in the movie only as "The Duke." The Duke is a very mean man, but from the beginning you'd never tell. He acts nice, but when it comes down to the deal, he makes Harold Zidler sign over the deeds to the Moulin Rouge night club as well as exclusive rights to Satine, making it so she can't do the dancing and things that she normally does, and that no one else can touch her. He turns out to be even more ruthless as the movie progresses. He doesn't see the affair going on between Satine and the boy that is writing the screen play for his play, but if he did he'd go berserk. He constantly is causing everyone trouble, and he is just a mean guy. Richard Roxburgh does an excellent job in this movie, and his character is quite the strange and evil one, but for being so complex Richard Roxburgh has it down to the last dot, and really delivers an awesome performance, that adds to the movies greatness.
All in all this is a movie I definitely recommend for anyone to see. It's very entertaining, very funny at parts, and also a very sad tale. It's got all sorts of great elements that just make it an awesome movie, and it's now one of my favorite movie/musicals!!!!!
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