Those crazy lovebirds and those zany bohemians... they're ba-ack for part two.
A Poetry Reading
Now where were we? Goodness, this movie can exhaust you. Oh, yes. We'd reached Christian's wide open heart. Though Ewan MacGregor's performance is adept enough to show the writer's sensitivity immediately and make it loveable, the film would have still worked with a less expressive actor --just not as well. For every contribution from a thespian, Moulin Rouge!'s strenuously visual madness joins in to make the accomplishment a duet. For instance, as Donald McAlpine's camera zooms in to our next scene Christian is framed in --what else?--a heart shaped window.
But where exactly are we, physically? There are two simultaneous sound cues in case this abrupt scene change has lost you. On the soundtrack Nicole Kidman warbles "Meet Me in the Red Room" (one of the many reasons why you need to own both of the Moulin Rouge! soundtracks, not just the first released) and there's a quick cutaway to Toulouse-Lautrec who shouts it out for us, as well:
"Unbelievable. Straight to the elephant"
The "Elephant" and the "Red Room" are both descriptors for Satine's bedchamber where she is meant to entertain the Duke who she still thinks is Christian. That heart shaped window is located at the elephants head and it opens up to Satine's bedroom draped in eye-popping reds. Given the numerous dick jokes that follow though, you'd be excused for assuming that The Elephant and The Red Room are merely euphemisms for what goes on inside.
At this point in the movie, the MPAA drops by for a visit.READ THE REST for Ewan's "huge talent", a bitter Oscar tangent, Harold Zidler and Jack Sparrow's kinship, the gargantuan bedazzlement of "Spectacular! Spectacular!", Nicole & Ewan's chemistry, and love (for this movie) above all else.
Tags: Moulin Rouge, musicals, movies, Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, Ewan McGregor, Oscars, Academy Awards, cinema, DVD, Review, Film, cinematography, moviemusicals
