Contemporary Silent Film a Classic?

Rating: 6/10 (28 December 2011)

The artist is a smartly crafted tribute to movies from the silent era. Everything from the sets, to hair and outfits to the overly exaggerated expressions, to even the late 20s mentality brought us back to movies from that time period. The actors expertly emphasized the over the top emotions which are needed since verbal expression is not possible. The as minimal as possible shots of written words to convey a statement, as was done in silent films from the past, was a fun aspect that showed how minor a role words actually play in order to convey a story by film.
It was a nice tribute and it excellently mocked those old silent movies however The Artist is not a classic as those old silent films are. I think when a silent film is revisited it is not so much for its entertainment value but rather for its value as a classic as a art form in its infancy, perhaps to get a sense of the time period or perhaps to touch on film history by witnessing legendary actors or filmmakers. It was impossible for The Artist to achieve this level or any level of nostalgic classic nor will it since it is a contemporary parody.
As a silent film and as a mimic of those old silent films it had a cumbersome pacing at times. It was rather light hearted and didn't have as much as that interesting psychological dark edge as other similar stories that explored a Hollywood star that is once on top, loses it all and is no longer relevant has; think Sunset Boulevard. There were also much more entertaining movies made about the advent of talkies and the impact it had on actors from the time period, think Singing in the Rain.
The Artist is mildly entertaining, with a premise that felt revisited. It was a comfortable tribute that expertly recreated films from the 1920s.