Thoroughly enjoyable, and mightily ambitious, it's worthy of the applause.

Rating: 10/10 (3 February 2012)

When The Artist premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, it opened to an enthusiastic reception that continued to spread over to the U.S. Now hat I see it, it isn't hard for me to see why it's been bringing audiences to their feet, and claiming Best Picture awards left and right.
The Artist was a passion project for director Michel Hazanavicius. He'd long wanted to make a film inspired by the black & white silent movies of the 1920's and early 30's. There's barely any audible dialogue or sound effects in the whole film besides music. The movie's first ambient sound effects aren't heard until half an hour through the film, and they aren't followed by any more until a full hour later. This is where Hazanavicius specifically lets his writing and direction take center stage.
Some may call it incredibly flashy, but I actually find the direction to be quite subtle. Co-working as both a director and film editor, Hazanavicius paces the movie at the exact rate it always needs. He pieces together his excellent cast's performances with style, and knows when to make a quick cut, whether it be to another person or an inter-title. But he also knows when to slow things down, to let the audience absorb the detail of the film, such as the pleasant cinematography and lovely costumes, and to let a shot go uninterrupted and let Ludovic Bource's elegant, if not always so subtle, musical score do the storytelling. This is a thematically and technically excellent score, as Bource relishes in the lightly romanticized and melodramatic orchestrations inspired by those from the golden age of Hollywood.
What Hazanavicius ultimately excels at best is his terrific cast. There's a whole slew of outstanding performances in this picture that perform perfectly, and manage to tell us almost a whole story without saying a single word: including great supporting roles by John Goodman, James Cromwell, and Penelope Ann Miller. Standout notices go to Jean Dujardin, whose natural charisma, sincerity, and incredible array of emotion in the role of George Valentin is enough to carry the whole film on its own. Berenice Bejo, on top of being so utterly beautiful, gives a masterstroke portrayal as the enthusiastic Peppy Miller, never uttering a single line, but charming us and placing us under an irresistible spell. As if that weren't enough, Uggie the dog, who plays Valentin's faithful pet, is the most adorable thing I've seen all year. Applause is most richly deserved.
**** out of ****