A delightful tribute to the era of silent cinema

Rating: 10/10 (28 August 2014)

In 1929 George Valentin one of the most celebrated actors of his day; his films plays to cinemas packed with adoring fans. One day, as he is talking to the press, an unknown dancer kisses him on the cheek and the photo makes the front cover; everybody wants to know who she is. In a few short years they will know; she is Peppy Miller and she is on her way from being a dancer trying to get into films to being the leading lady of the time. Meanwhile George, the man who got her her break is on the way out; the talkies are coming in and he doesn't want anything to do with them. He invests much of his own money in a film that proves to be a flop then the stock market crash wipes out the rest of his money; forced to sell everything he hits rock bottom as Peppy is riding high in public popularity; she hasn't forgotten him though and is determined to help him get back into the movies.
This tribute to the era of silent cinema is an utter delight. The idea of making a black and white (almost) silent film in this day and age seems unlikely; a gimmick at best it works though and apart from when a well-known actor appears on screen it is easy to forget this is actually a modern film! Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo put in fine performances as George and Peppy even if they are somewhat upstaged by Uggie who plays 'The Dog'; one of the screen's most delightful canine characters! Silent films aren't really silent of course; they are accompanied by music and this one is no different; the music made the film 'real'; capturing the emotions of the scenes as well as setting in the right time period. The story is fairly simple but that is part of the charm. Overall it is a feel-good movie but that doesn't mean there aren't sad moments; as things get worse and worse for George it is sad even though we can guess that somehow things will be better by the time the credits roll. Overall I thought this was an utter delight and recommend it to anybody looking for something very different from the usual fare which contains nothing which might cause offence.