Aging Actors, Change, and Talkies make for a great time!

Rating: Null/10 (14 August 2013)

Change. It's something that happens, sometimes reluctantly to people who have lived an event so long it becomes faded, out of date, and is being passed up by the wanting of "the new". Change is the central topic of The Artist. There was a time Hollywood was innocent, filled with lightness and fluff. The paparazzi weren't trying to tear actors images to pieces for no good reason. Movies were made for the sake of having a good time, not worrying about being the most financially successful or who will win the most Academy Awards. The Artist shows us that time, and though it's a delightful film, it does cross into some dark territory.
The Artist may look like is a bagatelle with no worries in the world, everyone is happy all the time. It does charm the smile right onto your face, but what surprised me is The Artist's gloomy periods of human struggle. The Artist also covers the subject of Hollywood Actors being discarded when their time is up. Studio executives treat actors like throwaway cards in their poker games. It's tragic when a person builds their entire life with one light guiding their every decision, then, without warning being dismissed forever. The smart choice The Artist makes is having a man experience this situation because it's cliché to think women only get this discrimination. It's the harsh fact of the entertainment business.
Yes, it does cover some deep thoughts about Hollywood, but the quality that distinguishes The Artist is the style in which the tells us the story to us. Back in the days when silent pictures were all the film world had, "talkies" were the films everyone was fascinated by. The Artist proves the irony of today's society being drawn to the silent picture approach. Silent characters allows the film score to become the life of the movie. The way we react depends on the score and what it tells us. The score works toward the making the images accessible to the audience, and the visuals are just as pleasing as the musical composition. The imagination and creativity used to plan out and project the images of this time are glowing left to right, in the stunning black and white photography.
The Artist's second life necessity to breathing is laughing. I felt like I was laying on a cloud and whenever they laugh, it's like you're being tickled with a me with a feather. It's a pleasure to sit through The Artist, you'll having a great time. The nostalgia for the days of silent movies is amplified even more through Jean Dujardin rocking the look of the classical actors. You have such fun watching Dujardin in the role, that you may not notice the acting the man has behind his character. He creates an uncompromising charm for the protagonist, as well as dwelling on the character's misfortunes in later scenes. Berenice Bejo is lovely in her role, as well, but doesn't quite have the well-rounded character Dujardin was given.
Make The Artist you're #ThrowbackThursday, because it glorifies and eventually tears down a significant time in the history of entertainment. Michel Hazanvicius directs his picture with all the gusto to make us enjoy the time we're spending with the characters. He doesn't smother the picture, instead just lets the picture live. The ending is perfectly executed, progressing the moving times in a cute and classy manner. As soon as I parted ways with The Artist, the more I reflected on the time I spent watching it, the more I found a deeper appreciation for it.
Rating: 8.5/10
Grade: A