Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.

Well, the stateside screenings have begun. I've talked with a number of people who have seen screenings over the weekend, and the response is far more favorable than not. Admittedly, there have been a few dissenters, but most people seem intoxicated by Baz Luhrmann's new confection. For example, check this out...

Hey, Harry. I'm a longtime reader, first-time writer. Caught an advance screening of Moulin Rouge tonight during a visit to Century City in Los Angeles, and let me say: It's everything the soundtrack suggested it would be, and more. I'm not precisely certain how it will do at the box office - after the initial rush on the marquee power of Nicole Kidman, there's going to be intense word-of-mouth, both for and against, and people will either "get it" or they won't - but I'm absolutely confident that Baz Luhrmann has proven himself to be one of the most brilliantly inventive and absolutely fearless directors of our generation. He does things in this film that are so far out there that they would fail catastrophically if he didn't get them exactly right--and he gets them exactly right. So much about this film is so blazingly original that people will actually NOT copy it in the future, because they won't have any idea how to come close to what Luhrmann has accomplished.

The story - okay, as if that's why you're seeing this film - is about a young writer from London named Christian (Ewan McGregor) who heads to turn-of-the-century Paris to immerse himself in its burgeoning bohemian movement and write about love. His immediate problem: He's never been in love himself. That changes quickly after he befriends an intellectual lisping drunken dwarf played by John Leguizamo (no, I'm not kidding), who introduces him to the intoxicating nightlife world of the Moulin Rouge, and, with it, the captivating prostitute showgirl Satine (Nicole Kidman). Smitten with Satine, the young writer is quickly inspired to write a play for her, to be produced at the nightclub and financed by an arrogant Duke who has his own designs on show's beautiful star.

Do romantic and desperate complications ensue from there? Sure, but that's hardly what makes this such a dazzling film. The story itself is a fairly pedestrian version of boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-breaks-into-song-written-by-Elton-John-in-the-1970s. Did I say Elton John? That's right, as well as Madonna, Sting/the Police, KISS, the Beatles, and more than you'll even be able to keep up with. The film incorporates some of pop music's catchiest, most hummable tunes, with the musical arrangements turned on their heads and inside out and then fit into the story in clever, unexpected and astounding ways. It's the most daring creative choice of a major motion picture thus far this century, and one that outstrips even Luhrmann's previous effort, the time-shifted Shakespeare-in-South-Beach version of Romeo + Juliet starring Claire Danes and Leo DiCaprio. Not content to simply use familiar pop songs to give his audience a musical context, however, Luhrmann also employs the music in true operatic fashion, using specific musical cues to revisit certain emotional beats or create irony by changing the context.

Equally amazing is that all of the actors did all of their own singing - yes, that really is Nicole Kidman hitting the high notes - and Ewan McGregor acquits himself so completely as a singer that his delivery is often superior to the source material that he's working from. In fact, both performers deserve words of unreserved praise: As Satine, Nicole Kidman is both a porcelain angel of perfection and a manipulative streetwise hustler, whose desire for fame is matched only by her ache for true love amid her parade of paying lovers. As the innocent Christian, McGregor is consumed by a purity of love for Satine that is right for all the same reasons that the Duke's dark obsession is wrong.

But the music is not the only astounding aspect of Luhrmann's genius. From an artistic direction standpoint, this film is Cabaret on ecstasy, explosive in its extravagance but without becoming overwhelming. The Moulin Rouge itself is a cascade of color and electric light (blissfully anachronistic for its time period), with its inhabitants a classy/seedy mix of tuxedos, diamonds, cleavage and painted flesh. There's also moments of tremendous whimsy, such as when characters swept away by passion begin dancing on clouds and swinging around on a shoulder-high Eiffel Tower. (You'll just have to see it.) But aside from the in-camera effects, Luhrmann also makes remarkably effective use of CGI, delivering pans and zooms that are undoubtably computer-created and yet still have the look and feel of vintage photography.

As a final note of praise, Luhrmann's quirky storytelling also deserves mention. He shifts rapidly from absurdist comedy (similar to the kind performed in Paris at the turn of the century) to moments of deep passion without losing the audience's willingness to go along for the ride. There's also a clever play-within-a-play-within-a-play device that could have been confusing but is handled with just the right touch. And then there's the outstanding tango scene, full of such black and tragic passion that you'll never watch the dance again without thinking of this sequence.

A lot of over-the-top praise? Sure, but it's only in keeping with the style of the film. That's not to say that the movie is perfect - it does drag in spots, such as just before the third act - but the movie's minor imperfections only serve to advance its purpose: after all, what good would this film be, if everyone could agree upon it?

I already can't wait for the DVD, and the film hasn't even opened in theaters yet. Ah well - at least I know what's going first on my Christmas list.

Hope you like the film as much as I did, Harry. Oh yeah - and sign me...

Kidradical