The Artist: When Actions Speak Louder than Words

Rating: 9/10 (12 January 2012)

This film is highly recommended.
" Dreams can come true again, When ev'ry thing old is new again. "

Lyrics by Peter Allen

Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist is a fine homage to the heydays of early cinema. It is 1927 and the arrival of "talkies" is about to change the silent film industry and those who are unable to transition to this new process. One of those soon-to-be victims is Hollywood movie star George Valentin ( Jean Dujardin ). A top matinée idol ( ala the real John Gilbert ) accustomed to fame and the fortune or misfortune it brings, Valentin meets cute an adoring fan named Peppy ( Bérénice Bejo ). Soon Peppy becomes a rising ingénue on the road to stardom while his life begins to descend into alcohol and poverty.
Yes, the plot is mighty familiar, but bear with it. With the film being basically silent, the overall visual look of the film must greatly compensate for the lack of words and dialog. And that is just what happens in this marvelous film, as it captivates and transports the moviegoer back to a more innocent time.
The Artist is a rather conventional mash-up of Singin' in the Rain with A Star is Born. Yet it completely won me over with its masterful direction and period details. ( I realized this about 20 minutes into the film during one terrific dream sequence where sound effects abruptly broke the "silence" barrier. ) Shooting the film in 1.33:1 ratio and in glorious black & white, just as those silent films were initially seen, is more than a mere gimmick in Hazanavicius' vision. He takes his appreciation of his film subject seriously and adds his modern spin to this film while staying entrenched in that revered cinematic style.
The film is done mostly without dialog, albeit title cards playing a significant role as does a continuous musical soundtrack that highlights the action on the screen. The director, who also wrote the screenplay, tends to borrow too heavily from some musical choices (as with Hermann's Vertigo score ) and some film masterworks ( like Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, The Mark of Zorro with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, loyal chauffeur and all. Some may say these touches are only inspired from other sources, others might question the film's lack of originality. )
But the film has certified moments of pure genius intermixed with scenes of high melodrama. There are scenes of such wit and charm ( a musical dance number remindful of that of Astaire and Rogers ; a slightly surreal moment with a young starlet embracing a coat-rack that seems to come to life; a dinner table scene that owes much to passage of time tableaux from the aforementioned Kane, etc. ) that dazzles the movie audience. ( At the film's end, there was spontaneous applause heard throughout the theater. )
Another plus to the film's winning demeanor is the central casting of the two main actors. Dujardin plays Valentin as a proud and vain peacock of a man. He can emote like the silent film stars of yesteryear, brandishing his handsomeness and profile to extremes and the next moment bringing a Chaplinesque quality to the more vulnerable side of this man's personality. Bérénice Bejo radiates that sunny and "peppy" quality needed for her character to become fully realized. Her loving and caring nature provides the essence for romance within the story. ( Special mention goes to Uggie the Dog for proving once again that we humans can be so easily upstaged by our four-legged friends.)
The Artist is an affectionate love letter to the silent film era and Hollywood itself. As the old adage says, "Silence is golden." And so is this delightful film. GRADE: B+
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