I went into "The Artist" with high expectations; sadly, I was left empty and wanting more.

Rating: 7/10 (23 January 2012)

"The Artist" has received an abundance of praise and awards since it's limited release back in late November. Knowing that, I saw the film with high expectations. Sadly, I was left empty and wanting more.
"The Artist" follows the life of a silent film actor, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin). George is the "it guy" in the 1920's vision of Hollywood; he's good looking, charming, and has a bad-ass mustache. The opening scene sets you right into this silent world with the premiere of George's new film, "A Russian Affair". As George's film, "A Russian Affair" ends, George comes on stage and entertains the audience by saying a few words and doing a little dance; The audience loves it. Later that same evening, George is outside the theater posing for pictures for the press when a young woman, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), drops her purse. As she goes to retrieve it, she gets bumped and is pushed right into George. George laughs it off and poses for pictures alongside the young woman. Peppy wants to be an actress; the next day she goes to an audition at Kinograph Studios and coincidentally has another encounter with George. Al Zimmer (John Goodman), the Studio's boss, isn't to intrigued by Ms. Miller, but with George's help she becomes the next big thing in Hollywood. From that point on, George's life is in a downward spiral. As she rises, he falls. With "Talkies" starting to become the new form of cinema, George loses his job, his house, and his wife. Given that "The Artist" is a silent film, it's a pretty dark and intriguing tale of a washed up actor.
"The Artist" -to put it bluntly- is a piece of art. It's beautiful, funny, and suspenseful without even trying too hard; It's a true achievement in filmmaking. Another thing that is worth mentioning is how natural everything feels. Whether it be the acting, the music, the black and white film alongside the four by three aspect ratio, it never feels like an anachronism.
Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo and John Goodman give beautiful performances. There is no spoken dialogue that can be heard, so you might want to learn to read lips (only with image captions that pop-up occasionally is when you can understand what the characters are saying). Otherwise, you only know what's going on by watching the actors' facial expressions and movements. There were more than a couple times in this film where I felt great sympathy for Jean Dujardin's charismatic character, George. You feel sad when George is sad and you feel happy when he's happy; he's that kind of character. James Cromwell plays Clifton, George's faithful butler, and he's great as well. There's a scene with George and Clifton, I'm not going to spoil it, but it's just pitiful. Bérénice Bejo doesn't get as much screen time as Jean Dujardin, but believe me, she does leave her mark.
Even though The film uses the four by three aspect ratio with no color, the cinematography is a delight to look at. Like I said, there is no sound, except for the score that composer Ludovic Bource provides. To be honest, It's not exactly my kind of music, but it replicates the era perfectly (The same goes for the costume designs).
I've done nothing but praise this film, so what's the problem? Well...I really don't have one. I'm willing to admit something that no one ever seems to want to own up to: maybe it's just me. Maybe it was the lack of dialogue that threw me off, maybe it was the music. Regardless, "The Artist" deserves the praise it has gotten and will receive. Michel Hazanavicius made a bold move for making a film of this style, and it pays off.
"The Artist" is a film I respect way more than I like. I give "The Artist" a 3.5/5

Colyn Kirkland