I didn't want to see this movie because Nicole Kidman sang and acted in it, which I believed that she could do neither. Well she has come such a long way since her earlier days of being Mrs. Tom Cruise. She not only held her own, but she had a pleasant singing voice and carried off the part quite well. I like the turn of the century setting with the modern music. The dance sequences were deftly executed and well placed. We started off with the liveliness and joviality of the can can and moved on to the dark, and sexy Tango, which tells a story within a story. There was definately lots of eye-candy, but there was solid acting to back it up from all sides. Although the basic plot was far from original, (boy meets girl, etc), it was the strenght of the actors who took it far. The tragic ending was very powerful because of McGregors performance. You felt his pain. If you have to see any of Baz Lurhman's movies, see this one and spare yourself the pain of the Velvet Goldmine (also starring McGregor). 