The Silence of Love

Rating: 7/10 (25 February 2012)

On the surface 'The Artist' is a simple love story; a period love story set during the times of turbulent transition when cinema broke its silence and acquired a voice. George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) the swashbuckling star of silent films is unable to make the transition to talking films and finds himself upstaged by his upstart costar, the effervescent Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). How Peppy's love for him, ably aided by a totally adorable canine, helps Valentin redeem himself is the essence of the film. The challenge before the director Michel Hazanavicius, who has also written the screenplay, is to get all the emotions - pride, anger, jealousy etc – typical of a love story, across to us in a silent film.
Yes, 'The Artist' is a silent film in black and white. It is this painstakingly constructed retro format that gives a classic texture to the film. Unusually for a silent film, the inter-titles are very sparse and the director relies heavily on the music to convey the emotions of a scene. And the musical score of composer Ludovic Bource, ranging from sombre symphonies to lilting melodies majestically rises to the occasion. Since music is the only sound of the film, it leaves a lasting impression on the mind Sound does make a stunning entry, twice in fact, during the film and catches us totally by surprise. The first is a cleverly disguised dream sequence about 30 minutes into the film. Valentin dreams that he has lost his voice, and how better to convey this than introducing sound to the inanimate objects! The second appearance of sound is in the very last minute of the film, when the director shouts CUT! And you are left with a disconcerting feeling of having watched a film within a film within a film.
'The Artist' is anything but a hackneyed love story and there are layers to be peeled away, if you like, to get under the skin of George Valentin. Why he does what he does is a mystery and more mysterious is the transformation wrought by the silent words of a cop, whose mouth is shown in an astonishing close-up. There are several uncomfortable questions to be asked and answered, without in anyway diminishing the enjoyment of the film.
But, 'The Artist' ends sweetly and gives you a feel good factor of love having triumphed over everything. It is also about the magic of moving images, the magic so lovingly captured in the numerous shots of anxious faces glued to the screen. Hazanavicius pays tributes to hoary legends of cinema by making references to their works. I caught the reference to Citizen Kane, and if you get this, it will be an icing on a most delicious cake of cinema.