This is the best film of 2012? Really?

Rating: 5/10 (2 March 2012)

Audiences of late are being educated about life in the early part of last century with the very layered "Boardwalk Empire". Moreso, the scripting and characters are intricate and have a complexity that modern audiences expect in intelligent filmmaking these days. Here comes "The Artist", a very simplistic and unadventurous throwback film. But really, even back then filmmaking was capable of complexity, like "It Happened One Night". Frankly, the story was so cliché and clunky, it felt like a film student's first screenplay. And the production was no more impressive than a stylised episode of "Moonlighting".
I have been a fan of Michel Hazanavicius and Jean Dujardin's James Bond spoofs. And I expect great things ahead for both of them. I am certainly convinced that they will make better films than this, one that really might deserve an Oscar. This is not a bad film, but "Citizen Kane" it is not. It really does not break any new ground, has slow character development, and the script at points felt repetitious. Although the photography adhered to 20's techniques, still some creativity could have been welcomed. Black and white photography can be stunningly beautiful. This film shows little flair despite being a bold period piece.
So what is left is the music, and there is nothing either disappointing or epic about the soundtrack. Again, for such a film to draw attention to a different place and time, only to model itself as the cookie cutter film establishment circa 1920's, loses it's chance to add nuance and complexity. "Boardwalk Empire" injects timely cultural nuance, along with the limitations and different mindsets of a less sophisticated time. Perhaps some reference to the silent comedy stars that suffered a similar fate (Charlie Chaplin was a silent film legend, but his comedy could not translate into talkies). In general, this film had a lot live up to when I walked into the theatre after winning so many accolades. There was nothing unique to this compared to other throwback films. It is not innovative in any way. They could have injected more subtle humour and less dog tricks (Disney has the silly dog film market covered). A bad Coen brothers film is better than this. I was surprised how little meat there was on the bone after sitting through it. Certainly a film like "The Tree of Life" is a more memorable film from 2012. Heck, "Moneyball" has a more intricacies to it and it's a baseball film. I am truly sorry I could not get into this film, and I will probably be considered someone who can't appreciate small art-house films. It depends, a small film with a great script will standout. This small film without a great script does not.