Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, John Leguiziamo.
Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge is the tale of Christian (played remarkably by Ewan McGregor), a penniless Brit who moves to Paris with the intention of being a writer. Upon arriving, he meets several would be artists, such as Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguiziamo) and a narcoleptic Argentinean. This group is of course attempting to write a play and while struggling with the music it is Christian who comes through with the lyrics, mind you he does of course belt out "the hills are alive, with the sound of music,"" but the talent is visible nonetheless. After having been discovered, he is soon given the task of securing the Moulin Rouge (a fin de sieclé Studio 54) as an outlet for their production. Thus begins the set up for a case of mistaken identity in which the courtesan Satine (the elegant Nicole Kidman), mistakes Christian for the Duke whom Moulin Rouge owner Harold Zigler (Jim Broadbent), is attempting to secure sponsorship from by promising him Satine in return for money. As luck, fate, and tradition would have it, Satine and Christian fall in love, but tragedy must win and after a brief triumph in which the bohemian ideals of truth, beauty, freedom, and above all things love are upheld and used to defeat the Duke, Satine dies and Christian is left alone to tell the story. Yes, it is the same plot we have seen repeatedly in movies, plays, and Danielle Steele novels, but here it is fresh, innovative, and more importantly Musical.
The Musical, a forgotten genre of film that seems to have died somewhere in the late 60s, but is revived here with a relish. The musical, which has long since proved to be a way of enlivening the ho-hum already been done narratives that audiences' love to hate. Not only is Moulin Rouge aware of this tool, it is counting on it. It is this use of obviousness which sets Moulin Rouge apart as a postmodernist "Spectacular Spectacular.
