Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that, though the film, on paper, sounds a bit too mature for even teens (seduction and obfuscation are employed to raise money for a club), it's really quite a tender love story that features little to no nudity, fairly clean language (though there is plenty of sexual innuendo), and a sweet message about the power of love.
Families can talk about why Satine enjoys her job as a courtesan (or if she actually does). Can anyone really be happy pursuing fame using one's physical charms? What attracts her to Christian, and vice-versa? Why is Hollywood enamored of opposites-attract themes? Are Satine and Christian truly destined for each other?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: S. Jhoanna Robledo
MOULIN ROUGE is that kind of movie that divides viewers into two distinct camps: Those who love it and those who don't. It almost doesn't matter, however. Because no matter how moving or maddening it may be, depending on which side of the argument you're on, this refreshingly modern musical is memorable and fascinating.
Set in late-1800s Paris, the film begins in a garret, where a visibly heartbroken poet, Christian (Ewan McGregor), sits at his typewriter, pecking out what is essentially the film's premise: The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return. Rewind to the past, when Christian was a writer who believed in love but had never been in love. Wide-eyed and full of hope (not to mention singing lyrics from The Sound of Music), he's recruited by a group of bohemians led by the artist Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo, who zig-zags between entertaining and annoying) to write a show for the Moulin Rouge called Spectacular Spectacular! There's just one hitch: He must first persuade Satine (Nicole Kidman), the hot-blooded, cool-eyed courtesan at the Moulin Rouge, to agree.
As it turns out getting her to sign off on the plan isn't so difficult. Not after they both fall headlong into love. But Satine's supposed to be romancing a Duke (Richard Roxburgh) with deep pockets, so he can finance the Moulin Rouge. If he finds out her heart belongs to someone else, their entire enterprise is doomed. Worse, Satine keeps blacking out, and it doesn't take the audience much time to figure out she's terminally ill.
In the hands of another director, the story would have probably marched on in a fairly typical fashion. But this is Baz Luhrmann territory, which means kinetic camerawork, quick cuts, color-saturated tableaus, and lots and lots of music. In places, it overwhelms the senses and seems overdone. (Besides, no one likes a show-off.) But the chemistry between MacGregor and Kidman is unmistakable, and their voices not half-bad. The scene in which they sing the "Elephant Love Medley" -- combining lyrics from Elton John's "Your Song," the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love," and U2's "In the Name of Love" -- is a heart-opening ode to love.
In the end, all this pageantry and ballad-belting enthusiasm pays off. Though it may not be everyone's cup of tea, Moulin Rouge is creative, daring, and original.
Fans might also enjoy the equally epic Shakespeare in Love and the other Luhrmann music/dance fest, Strictly Ballroom.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentSatine, who prances around in lingerie, fakes an orgasm while Christian recites poetry. She also kneels in front of a man she's trying to seduce, as if mimicking a sexual position. Some kissing and straddling between couples. Lots of innuendoes and repartee; for example: Christian: "I'm just a little nervous....It's just that sometimes it takes awhile ugh..." Satine: "Ohhhh..." Christian: "For, you know, inspiration to come." Satine: "Oh yes, yes, yes...Let mommy help, hmm? Does that inspire you? Let's make love!" |
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ViolenceZidler flashes a gun. A few fistfights. |
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LanguageFairly innocuous. "Pish" is about as colorful as it gets, though there are tons of sexual innuendoes. |
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Social BehaviorA courtesan seduces a man whom she thinks has plenty of money to invest in her show. In turn, that man treats her like property. A club owner sees nothing wrong in pimping out his star to get an investor for his shows. Characters drink absinthe and other alcoholic beverages, lie (for a good cause, mind you), fight, but, in the end the movie's soft and gooey center is revealed through incessant discussions about the power of love. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoBacchanalia at various parties include smoking and drinking. Christian and his bohemian friends drink absinthe and subsequently have hallucinations. |
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