Embrace the past

Rating: 8/10 (4 March 2012)

IMDb Top 250: 116
I shouldn't have liked The Artist. Back in September I was thinking of concepts for films, and one of the ideas I came up with was for a black and white silent film, a homage to that era. This was before I had heard of this film; months later it came out, and has been hailed as brilliant and showered with awards. So I was a bit grumpy. Anyway, grumbles aside, I saw it today.
The Artist is charming. Showing the other perspective of the Singin' in the Rain story, the silent side, The Artist is clever. It follows George Valentin's (Jean Dujardin) fade as talkies become prevalent, with Peppy Miller's (Berenice Bejo) rise for the same reasons. The synopsis is the same as 'Singin', but the plot is different. The Artist is fun.
I've seen a few silent films, and quite recently too. However my position on them is different from many reviewers: I don't have a feeling of nostalgia from my parents liking them, and certainly wasn't around to see them soon after they first came out. Most my age haven't seen a silent film voluntarily, or at all.
Anyway, The Artist nails the feeling of the times, and feels completely natural. This is its biggest draw: a major motion picture in the new millennium, black and white with only music to accompany (mostly). There's lots of touches big and small that add to the atmosphere: the film is presented with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, meaning it isn't widescreen. The opening credits are right out of the era, with several cards saying the major people behind the film. Also, the music is fantastic, and has a much larger responsibility than films created today. The sets and costumes are remarkable: everything is authentic, or at least looks like it. Fittingly for a film called The Artist, the art direction is brilliant.
Jean Dujardin carries the show. The film isn't just about the Silent Era- it's about George Valentin's fantasy Silent era, with one exceptional break. He is perfect for the role like Jon Hamm is to Don Draper- you can't see anyone else doing it. This unique role that will define him would seem to have doomed his career- in America anyway. But the future can't damper this present. He's fantastic. Peppy is bright and cheery, like her name, and is also excellent. One of my first thoughts was, "there's no way she's a supporting cast member". She has a lot of screen time and presence. Maybe the Oscar nod was to keep her away from Streep's chokehold? The acting is fine all around, but there are only two starts in this show. Everyone convincingly acts silent, just a tad over the top. The dog is great.
One note to those who have seen silent films and not liked them: The Artist avoids the pitfall of excess speech. Many silent films have talking but few intertitles, so much plot is missed or poorly conveyed. The Artist doesn't have this problem- the script- and therefore the plot- is clear and concise, and the words chosen have great weight, like my favourite: "Why won't you talk?"
While generally lighthearted, there are a few dips into serious drama, and they lead to out of place comic relief that removes the weight of the scene, which some may like, not having to feel negative emotions, but I did not. Another small quip is that the grip on my attention was (very) slightly lost in the middle, for a short time.
It's no secret that the movie is a period film about filmmaking, but it also deals with pride, change, and the relation between those too which is quite relatable. But don't watch the Artist for a thematic lesson, enjoy it for the fun, history and film heritage.
The team behind this picked a great time to make it: it's been a long enough time that most would find a silent film interesting, but not too long that they are completely outdated. One should prepare by seeing an old film, like a Chaplin or a Keaton comedy and see just how far (or not) film has come. The Artist is a great film that doesn't rely on its gimmick (because its not a gimmick) to succeed. I believe that Best Picture should go to an achievement in film that can be widely enjoyed, but also has a certain amount of originality and creativity that people in 50 years will remember that the picture was special. Therefore The Artist is a very deserving winner. The Academy picked a great film this year. 8.5/10