Thee Artist

Rating: 10/10 (22 January 2012)

Last year I had a hard time coming up with #1 on my Top Ten of 2011 list and even though I ordered the top four, it was pretty much a 4-way tieuntilI finally saw 'The Artist' (5/5 Stars) or a better title: 'The Masterpiece.' I'm not going back to change my list, but this is by far the best of 2011 and one of the best movies I have EVER SEEN. I can't even count the number of attributes to the beauty of this film, but I'll try: Originality, gorgeous cinematography (yes, even for a B&W film), great dialogue (yes, even for a silent film), perfect acting all around, depth, chemistry, hope and just a sincere pleasure to watch. One of my favorites, not listed, was the ability to move the story along without an intertitle card. The acting, gestures, story and fantastic score moved us along so brilliantly, we could just rely on the actors vs. the obvious spoken words. All players, er, artists, were having so much fun recreating a great era of cinema you can see it ooze out of them with each facial expression and body language. This is, indeed, a masterpiece to be enjoyed, studied and watched by all who enjoy true cinematic works. Actually, just make that everyone should see this. My bet, before seeing this, was that it would win the Oscar for best Picture. After seeing it, I feel it should also win best cinematography, actor, actress, screenplay, score, and sound. It would be a crime if it didn't.