Moulin Rouge. Baz Luhrmann’s fantastical take on the novel La Dame aux Camélias & the opera La Traviata (my favorite opera). Nicole Kidman’s character is a blazée, beautiful cancan dancer who falls in love with a penniless but respectable writer (Ewan McGregor). Practical considerations (money) trap her in her lifestyle, subject to the patronage of a vain, occasionally violent, jealous, rich Duke. The decision to renounce her true love leads to heartache, and misery. She finally breaks free from the Duke only to die in Ewan’s arms from tuberculosis, contracted from a previous client.
Moulin Rouge is a movie about “truth, beauty, freedom and love“. It is also about the struggle to achieve each of those virtues, in the face of Life’s propensity to repeatedly sucker punch all of us. Those who dared to dream in this movie were rewarded by heartbreak or death. Watching it at 15 years old, I was swept away by the romantic pathos of it all. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that it is a very melancholy movie, albeit delightfully packaged with style, humor and dramatic flair. One particular scene that is not frequently cited (unlike Jim Broadbent singing Like a Virgin, or the brilliant/disturbing Roxanne scene) has always haunted me. It is the moment when Nicole Kidman gives up her fragile belief in her right to happiness.
Zigler: You’re dying, Satine. You’re dying. (…)
Satine: I was a fool to believe, a fool to believe. It all ends today. Yes, it all ends today.
Zigler: (…) You are a great actress Satine, make him believe you don’t love him. Use your talent to save him. Hurt him to save him. There is no other way. The show must go on, Satine. We’re creatures of the underworld. We can’t afford to love.
Satine & Zigler: Today’s a day when dreaming ends.
Zigler: Another hero. Another mindless crime, behind the curtain in the pantomime. On and on, does anybody know what we are living for? Whatever happened? We leave it all to chance. Another heartache, another failed romance. On and on, does anybody know what we are living for? The show must go on, the show must go on. Outside the dawn is breaking on the stage that holds our final destiny. The show must go on, the show must go on!
Satine: Inside my heart is breaking, my make-up may be flaking but my smile still stays on.
Zigler: The show must go on. The show must go on.
Satine: I’ll top the bill. I’ll earn the kill. I have to find the will to carry on with the show.
Zigler : The show must go on.
Watching it, 16 years ago, I felt an odd recognition – this scene captures how I see life.
“Inside my heart is breaking, my make-up may be flaking but my smile still stays on.”
I didn’t know at 17 years old that my shadow would turn out to be my constant companion. But I did know how to appear normal, even though I felt anything but normal on the inside, like my heart was about to split open from the sadness it carried. As I’ve gotten older, this has become even more true: I’ve become an excellent actress so as to avoid vulnerability: nobody asks questions when it looks like you got your shit together.
“We’re creatures of the underworld. We can’t afford to love.”
A coworker asked me recently, after a few too many beers, “Vanilla, this is going to sound awful, I can’t find the words to phrase this properly, but you are a beautiful, sexy, smart, accomplished professional, with an amazing life ahead of you… why do you go for such losers in your dating life? Why don’t you find somebody with the same life situation as you?” My coworker was referring to Athletico, Beaut and Hickster. I pointed out that each one, although not as educated as me, nor pursuing a traditional corporate lifestyle, had risen to the top of his respective field, and was respected for his athletic track record; any athlete that can successfully monetize their skills has street smarts, dedication, perseverance, talent and work ethic. So however terrible their grammatical skills, they can not be fairly labeled losers when it comes to their careers. But my coworker didn’t mean that. He meant that they are living trainwrecks and haven’t mastered the concept of honesty.
It’s taken me months to figure out why I gravitate to these guys, and why I feel so alive in the boxing and dancing world. I belong. These guys all have good streaks, so much of their characters is worthy of admiration and respect. But they also have this dark side to them, and they are caught up in the struggle of their two sides. Often their dark side wins, causing them to act in ways that is harmful to themselves and those around them. I get that. Every day is an internal struggle -against my ADD, my shadow and the lazy, mean, irresponsible and cowardly Vanilla that constantly undermines the hard work of good, kind and sweet Vanilla. So many of my friends and coworkers appear to have mastered the whole adulting concept, lives cleanly scrubbed and responsible; while I kinda wish I could adult like them, I also know that I’d hate it. I love/hate the struggle, but it is my struggle. It proves to me I am alive. These men that struggle and periodically fail at realizing their best selves makes me feel less different. I relate. I too am a creature of the underworld.
“On and on, does anybody know what we are living for? Whatever happened? We leave it all to chance.”
I haven’t found my purpose. I drift through life, too exhausted by the fight against my shadow to dream, or pursue proactively my happiness.
“The show must go on.”
Disclaimer: I know my posts sometimes alarm my readers, especially friends and family. My funk is still firmly in place, but it is not spiraling out of control: I’ll take treading water over being swept willy-nilly by the current of depression. I’m doing my best to fight it, but it’s hard. I promise I am trying.
Recap of the current funk:
Discovering ratchet 
I remember even watching the movie for the first time, the line “Inside my heart is breaking, my make-up may be flaking but my smile still stays on” hit me like a ton of bricks.
Now, my favourite scene is still Roxanne, because the barely restrained but graceful violence of the choreography (and those violins) just make the tension ramp up and up and it just… makes me FEEL.
I understand what you’re saying. I hope though that you can find someone who rises to the top and is a decent person. You’re pretty great! You deserve someone equally great.
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Xox #twinning
Yeah, I think I need to first believe I am great. #struggleisreal
It really is a brilliant movie.
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This movie rips my heart out. I also watched in around fifteen years old and was just mostly in love with Ewan McGregor. But watching it as an adult did something to me. That scene described above? Nicole’s voice ….. ugghhhhh.
I always fast-foward through Like a Virgin. That entire scene makes me uncomfortable.
Baz is a genius in his own right. Romeo and Juliet, Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby gah …. be still my heart.
And like Baz, you are not the definition of ‘norm’ …. and that’s a spectacular thing. At the end of this life, most of us will not be remembered. Those that are remembered to any degree, at the ones who dared to do things differently. Sylvia Plath and Poe dared to be different in their time. They were “weird” and “manic”. They were genius and inspiring. The difference here is that you can’t let your demons get you. Keep your light shining. Make it a bright, neon light. It’s different, and noticeable, and completely you.
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