I'm feeling considerably less than eloquent this morning due to lack of sleep but wanted to mention that I loved Moulin Rouge. It's beautiful and tragic and funny and sexy and I'm definitely going to see it again.
The sets and costumes are amazing but I missed a lot of the same kinds of things that I missed in Lurhmann's Romeo & Juliet simply because there is such an awful lot going on in so many of the scenes but it's fabulous eye-candy. I was pleasantly surprised by Ewan MacGregor's singing voice. I had no idea that he could sing. Not only that, but he sings very well! Nicole Kidman is beautifl and fascinating to watch and aquits herself well in the vocal department. It's difficult for me to say whether I think she's a particularly talented actess simply because she's so amazingly beautiful that I get sidetracked. She's good but that's pretty much all I can tell you. If I can see her be really good when the camera isn't quite so in love with her face I'll be better able to tell.
John Leguizamo (sp?) and Richard Roxburgh are the stand-out performances although I wasn't overly fond of the speech impediment that Leguizamo adopted for Lautrec. Both men brought moments of utterly naked humanity to roles that could easily have been mere stereotypes---The clown and the Evil Duke.
okay, brain fade. I can't think of anything else right now.
The modern tunes were used very effectively. They were good for some laughs as well as underscoring the theme of the film. There were a few that I didn't recognize at all, but one of my favorite scenes is set to Sting's Roxanne. It's a song that I love anyway, but the rearrangement and the choreography were ......god, I can't think of anything to convey how strongly it affected me. Not from an intellectual standpoint--the song is very frank and the message it conveys in the film unsubtle but the shear power of it was ....shit! I'm still out of words for it.
Another of my favorite scenes is in the beginning when they're selling the idea of Spectacula Spectacula to the Duke. I can't remember the name of the piece but it's classical and you might most easily recognize it with a cartoon cat and mouse chasing one another and hitting each other over the head with frying pans etc.
good god. I've got to get some sleep. I make no sense and have no words. blegh!
At any rate, I laughed my ass off---as did the rest of the audience. Kidman does over-the-top campy incredibly well. Her total commitment to melodrama in the early scenes with MacGregor and Roxburgh are hysterical. Satine knows the power of her allure but at the same time she never takes herself seriously. I think it's that quality the Kidman has in common with the character she portays and it's what frees her to be completely balls out in her performance.
