Silence Is Golden!

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2011)

THE ARTIST had received a lot of buzz before hitting the Chicago International Film Festival and I immediately saw why. This movie was about the transitioning time of silent movies to "talkies" and the stars that came from both eras. THE ARTIST captured my heart from the beginning. There is something romantically nostalgic about the depth and spectrum of black and white. Berenice Bejo plays Peppy Miller who was mesmerizing on the screen and played the aspiring starlet. She was star stuck in a chance meeting with the leading man George Valentin played by Jean Dujardin. George was actually just as spellbound by Peppy as she was with him. With a bit of help from George, Peppy skyrockets in her career. George refuses to think that "talkies" could be a part of the future. Zimmer, both Peppy and George's agent, played by John Goodman, watched one actor soar and the other crash and burn. Penelope Ann Miller plays Doris Valentin, the frustrated and bored wife of George. It was an interesting cast of French and American actors, but when it's a silent film, it's all about facial expressions and body language. In fact, the actors even make light of the old-school method of over acting when there was no sound. I found myself laughing, chuckling, and connected to the characters. Midway through the film, I admired the outfits of the era and felt completely taken aback as I consciously remembered I was watching a black and white film. This was a wonderfully artistic, nostalgic, and sweetly told story...completely entertaining.
I can now see why THE ARTIST was described as "the darling of Cannes." Be sure to see it on the big screen in November, 2011.