Just because it is a 'silent film' doesn't automatically make it great; still, it's usually fairly fun and is certainly well-made.

Rating: 7/10 (6 August 2018)

'The Artist (2011)' doesn't necessarily fully capitalise on its stylistic conceit, considering that there are several moments that break the silent film styling and that the plot itself would've been better suited to a hybrid approach (perhaps even an exaggerated one) similar to that seen in some movies made in the tail-end of the silent era. The style of the piece is pretty impressive in general, despite the fact that it certainly isn't as visual as it could've been, and it proves that the silent film is still, to this day, a genuine art-from that should be explored more often, perhaps even from a perspective that doesn't try to ape cinema's earliest pictures (which this feels like it's doing but it often misses the mark) so much as use their restrictions to tell an interesting - and not necessarily 'industry-commenting' - tale. This aesthetic is the only real reason the flick has any 'Oscar-worthy' merit, though. The piece's ending sort of arises from nowhere, even though its seeds are planted earlier, and brushes several serious issues of a central character aside in a way which pretends everything is suddenly okay essentially just because it needs to be for the plot. This makes it feel rushed and slightly unsatisfying. There's some difficulty in understanding a specific character's motives and, therefore, a central struggle of the narrative, too, which mitigates the engagement of the experience and makes for some questionable moments that often tie into the breaking of the established style and world (sometimes, it seems like our hero is surprised that he himself can hear people speak, even though we obviously can't). One of the largest issues actually seems like it would be one if the most incidental. The movie uses an incredibly famous musical score from an incredibly famous film during what it perhaps its most important - or, at least, intense - sequence. This jarringly pulls you right out of the world and totally ruins the impact of said scene, especially considering that the music doesn't fit with its tone at all - even if you don't consider the fact it's supposed to be a romantic track. It also feels extremely lazy and the music is very poorly chosen as the flick it's from isn't even silent and, as I mentioned, is one of the most recognisable in all of cinema, one especially renowned for its soundtrack. Overall, the picture has a charm to it that can't be denied despite its problems. It does seem like most of the praise seems to be levelled at the fact that it looks and sounds (or doesn't sound, if you will) like a silent film, but that isn't really enough to make a film great in my opinion. By that logic, all silent films are great. In reality, silent film has, like anything else, hits and misses. When you compare it to its quiet peers, this flick is middling, to say the least. While it's usually fun and always well-made, it isn't perfect and lacks certain elements that would really make it shine. It doesn't help that it's essentially 'Singin' In The Rain (1952)' without the songs. 7/10