The Artist

Rating: 6/10 (26 January 2012)

i wasn't extremely pleased with this film. it's a very good tribute to silent cinema. the performances are very strong by the whole cast (the leads were a perfect match for each other), including the dog. it's an original and audacious idea to make a silent, black and white film, with the 1.33 format, in this day and age. that's something to admire, but i felt that the film tries too hard to be affable and charming, presenting a pretty schmaltzy and uncreative script; the protagonist predicament completely misses the point of gaining the viewer's sympathy, he rather comes off as a stubborn fool who's not willing to leave his comfort zone without any real reasoning (talking could've probably advanced the story a lot, but oh well).. the separation between George Valentin and his wife is also poorly justified; around that time, the film got a little too bleak without any effect. the jolly moments were pretty, well assisted by the music; but even those were a little excessive, i thought. that's probably not the film's fault, though, because maybe i wasn't really in a jolly mood... i seem to be focusing on the things i didn't like more but still, it managed to draw a smile on my face on quite a few occasions.
it's surprising how quickly the charm and cheerfulness wore off.