I think that Luhrmann, much like the scotch tape, is about the 3Ms: movement, music, and mise en scene. Well, whattaya know? It would also be interesting to evaluate in light of the renewed popularity of the art form on reality TV etc.
Luhrmann had devised Strictly Ballroom as a theatre piece first, then adapted it into his first film as director though he had previously acted in a few. In it returned to being a theatre piece when it premiered as a stage musical. Everything just feels off.
I loved Leo as a romantic lead in Titanic. But here I really hated him. And I just found the movie loud and obnoxious in a way that does not serve the story. Guns are more brutal than blades. Guns are weapons of mass destruction and instant death. They do not leaving breathing room for tenderness or, frankly, heroism. So this one was a big miscalculation, in my view. The main saving grace for me was the supporting cast, and Danes was appropriately cast. On my first viewing of the film in the cinema, the constant motion, colors, and cutting made my head spin and literally made me nauseous.
But then I ended up seeing it several more times and kind of become obsessed with it, and dare I say, it gave me notions, made me a little crackers. I bought a copy back when people still bought DVDs. Now this movie IS romantic and tragic, and Luhrmann found his way there by expressing himself through visual, aural, musical, and kinetic pastiche.
THAT is his metier, and it works seamlessly here. Nicole Kidman is at her bewitching best, displaying the very quality that was famously lacking in Eyes Wide Shut. Now we come to that bit of news I mentioned:. Moulin Rouge came to the Broadway stage in only to be rudely interrupted by the Covid epidemic. He previously wrote the equivalent book for the show Wicked. It has an interview with Luhrmann. A perfect gift idea for MANY people we head into the holidays. Get it here. I liked that one where Paul Hogan carried that big knife around, though.
