A Brilliant And Imaginative Film

Rating: 9/10 (14 November 2012)

It is absolutely impossible to watch this film without being astonished by how well made it was by director Michel Hazanavicius. When you think about it, this was a risky project. In the second decade of the 21st century how many movie goers would actually be impressed by a silent movie? And I must admit that for the first few minutes I was tentative as I watched this, wanting to be impressed but holding back on my admiration, almost as if I wanted not to like it for some reason - but then succumbing, and having to admit that it really is a brilliant piece of movie making. And Hazanavicius deserves great credit for that. He took this very old and worn style of movie making and made a very new and fresh style of movie out of it. Once you're hooked - which you are very quickly, if not right away - you're hooked.
This is a great story. If you know anything about movie history, you know how true to life it is as well. How many silent actors just couldn't cope with the advent of the talkie? How many careers went down in flames almost literally overnight as the talkies took centre stage? In "The Artist" it's the fictional George Valentin who's facing this sudden upheaval. Valentin is a huge silent star for Kinograph Pictures, when all of a sudden the studio simply tells him that it's over. Everything they have - all their resources - are now being put into talkies, and George - as big a silent star as he was - just doesn't fit. As arrogant as he is in many ways, you still feel so sorry for him. His life crumbles; his marriage crumbles; he loses everything (except the love of his dog, who stays loyally by his side through everything.) He struggles to keep going. When Kinograph cuts him loose he tries directing and producing his own silent movie. I think the saddest scene in the entire film is the premiere of this effort, as we see an almost empty theatre watching. He WAS a big star - but no one cares about him anymore. The movies have passed him by. It would be the equivalent of people suddenly losing interest - all interest almost overnight - in George Clooney or Brad Pitt. There's a rawness to that simple shot of the almost empty theatre; it truly cuts at the viewer. And you wonder how many silent actors had this (or something similar) happen to them as the 20's suddenly became the 30's - and no one cared about them anymore. French actor Jean Dujardin was wonderful in this role. He silently captured Valentin's pain and bewilderment and sadness as the life he knew totally collapsed around him.
And, of course, there was the other side of the coin - represented by Peppy Martin (played by Berenice Bejo, who reminded me very much of a young Joan Collins.) Peppy was a fan of Valentin who managed to give the mega star a peck on the cheek, which photographers captured. That earned her some work as an extra and finally a scene with Valentin in one of his movies. Then - the talkies that destroyed Valentin were perfectly suited to Martin. She rocketed to superstardom even as Valentin collapsed into obscurity. From time to time their paths would cross, each time the different trajectories their lives and careers had taken becoming more noticeable. Bejo was also perfect in the role. She pulls off the hint of arrogance so natural for someone who's just become the hottest ticket in Hollywood, pointing out to reporters (as Valentin - unbeknownst to her listens) that people are tired of silent movie actors and all their "mugging." But she doesn't forget Valentin. She falls in love with him and rescues him, finally using her currency as Kinograph's new mega-star to insist on making a movie with him - or else. It can't be a talkie because Valentin doesn't do talkies. But it all leads up to an absolutely breath-taking dance routine between the two near the end of the movie.
Brilliant. Just brilliant. The supporting cast were equally strong - from James Cromwell as Valentin's (and later Miller's) chauffeur to John Goodman as the head of Kinograph Pictures to even Uggie as Valentin's loyal little pooch. A great movie. I found it just a little hard to get into at first, but I think that was my fault more than the movie's as I struggled slightly with the whole largely unfamiliar silent medium. (9/10)