Interesting, mild fun but overrated

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2012)

"The Artist" unfortunately cannot be reviewed at this moment in time without being aware of the hype manufactured by the Weinstein brothers - the producers of good-but-not-great movies that muscle their way into all of the award races. Unfortunately, as is usually the case with the Weinstein movies, it falls short of expectations.
On its own, "The Artist" is a fun experiment: let's shoot a silent black and white film, using many of the mechanisms of that film era, from cinematography to screenplay. In particular it imitates that romantic films of the time, as opposed to the more influential satires and fantasy/horror films. It goes as far as incorporating a variation on "Lassie". The actors are charming and there are some interesting metaphorical shots. It is clever at times, amusing and funny at turns, cheesy at others, mildly suspenseful towards the end, but consistent in its style, and it delivers on the romance. The few moments of sound provide such a contrast to the world of silent film (are we in a self-aware movie?) that they become the most memorable and admirable parts of the film.
However, it is so light that it would make Clara Bowen's "It" seem as heavy as "Intolerance". It is intentionally clichéd, but does not do anything with its references; we are expected to accept them as if we were a 1928 audience. We must accept the on screen relationships as such, and the characters do not escape beyond the 2-dimensional. There is little advantage taken of modern technology to develop more elaborate scenes.
"The Artist" succeeds as a moderately fun recreation of 1920s and early 1930s cinema. However, the experiment perhaps would have been more interesting had the silent treatment been given to a modern story or to a deeper screenplay.