by Yazmin Ghonaim
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by Yazmin Ghonaim |
MOULIN ROUGE
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When the Moulin's most desirable entertainer and courtesan, Satine (Nicole Kidman: Eyes Wide Shut), mistakenly identifies penniless writer Christian (Ewan McGregor: Eye of the Beholder; Velvet Goldmine) as a wealthy suitor and her highest bidder for that evening, the misinformation tricks her into wanting to seduce the lucky lad. Unaware of the misunderstanding and dumfounded by her beauty and her eagerness to please him, Christian fails to deliver the expected performance, yet manages to enrapture Satine with an inspiring song about his genuine love and poetic sensibilities. Soon, however, the appearance of the destined client, the powerful Duke of Worcester (Richard Roxburgh), shatters the enchantment. The ambitious Satine dismisses Christian and decides to clear her mind of the ethereal sentiment he inspired. Yet her heart, as if captured by the artist's saving virtue, would henceforth send the material girl conflicting counsel.
Moulin Rouge invests vastly
in depicting the picturesque quality of the world that its
characters inhabit. Impressive set designs house the
adequately costumed characters, while choreography, color,
sound, impatient editing and an active camera capture the
extravaganza of the time and the place. Moulin Rouge
slightly furthers its raison d'être by
insinuating the artistic and social revolution that prompted
a democratization of leisure (or a "leveling of enjoyments"
where all classes merged) and that lay the foundation for
the 20th century's production of mass culture.
Appropriately, Moulin Rouge includes artist Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec (played by John Leguizamo), who is known
for immortalizing the subjects of brothels, bars and dance
halls in his paintings, prints and posters. (In the film,
Lautrec is defined as the carrier of the bohemian maxim of
"Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Love".) Yet what prevents
Moulin Rouge from being classified as simply an
amusing representation of the historical setting is its
surprisingly effective application of modern songs (by
artists that range from the Beatles to Elton John, Madonna
to U2). Some memorable songs such as "All You Need Is Love"
and Elton John's "Your Song" are interpreted by Kidman and
McGregor, whose imperfect voices --rather than categorize
the actors as mediocre singers-- seem to express their
characters' inherent humility toward their aggrandized
notions of love. Furthermore, the new versions of these
classic songs refresh the words and accentuate the harmony
of their meaning. Although Kidman's personification of the
struggling starlet is more convincing than that of the
voluptuous cabaret performer, all of Moulin Rouge's
players manage to transcend their theatrical persona to
embody --within their cinematic reality-- their true
identities.
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Outstanding Features: |
Screenplay, Set Design, Costume & Makeup, Music, Photography, Special Effects |
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