The Review Of Moulin Rouge

“Moulin Rouge” was unexpected, and I am making it face pitiful accusations of lacking heart. The film opens with rouge curtains that are embellished with gold tassel fringe, amongst the sound of the 20th Century Fox Fanfare playing loudly. Ewan McGregor (Christian), a lost writer, experiences a very much cliché love and pain when Nicole Kidman (Satine) is introduced into his life. When he sees her for the first time in the Parisian nightclub, his eyes sparkle reverently. Christian is very obviously sick for love as he narrates the beginning of the film, yet The Duke is also after Satine. With the two of them pining for her love, it is clear that there is not much hope for Christian. The Duke has the ability to shut down the Moulin Rouge, the nightclub that fills Satine with her livelihood. However, Zidler convinces Duke to finance a show that Satine stars in and Christian secretly becomes the writer. Every character seems to have an oversized presence where the entire film feels like the pinnacle moment when characters break into song during a musical.

Throughout the film, I noticed how little each person was characterized. By the end of the film, I did not feel attached or connected to any of them. They all felt like distant characters, paper dolls, dropped in the middle of movies sets that are splattered with seductive hues of red. The film was constantly jumping around with excitement, dashing between actors without any grace. The overwhelming amount of dancing, despite the film’s nature as a musical movie, challenged my ability to grasp the characters true personality. The film felt more focused on the flamboyant landscapes and Parisian nightclub atmosphere than anything else. Once again, the color of red dyed into everything and a listless number of songs placed in every scene. Honestly, the sets felt more emotional than Christian and Satine’s doomed love.

The cinematography in the Parisian nightclub is all over the place and makes it difficult to figure out where my attention should be prioritized. There is just so much going on in the film. The director, Baz Luhrmann, is almost spitting out all of his thoughts and ideas into every song and shot on camera. Not to mention, the plethora of pop culture references that feel inconsistent and without reason. They are only there to aid the chaos that lingers. This all lends itself to the cohesion of increased frame rates, slowed down shots, close-ups, Dutch angles and extreme close-ups. My perspective felt challenged, and I almost felt that maybe my lack of film expertise made this movie chaotic in a way that it should not have been. That still does not take away from the fact that there were endless jump cuts in every scene, whilst the camera moved vivaciously. I just felt that there was nothing to savor. Luhrmann packs in so much so often that the audience never gets a chance to breath. 

I think if I could have paused for a brief second, or rather that the characters would just pause, then maybe I could begin to think about swallowing the unconventional dynamics and relationships in “Moulin Rouge.” The choice of cinematography only inhibits these all too necessary pauses that should have taken place. “Moulin Rouge” is the kind of movie that needs to be watched again and again for actually being able to understand all of the artistic decisions. Yet, I was unsettled by the film’s vibrant and seductive choices that I, and many people most likely, probably would never want to watch it again.