Speaking Volumes

Rating: 8/10 (9 January 2012)

I don't think there has been a recent film which so closely expresses the joy of the art of motion pictures than 'The Artist'. Some may view it as pastiche, others may not see the point at all, especially in a world stuffed with theme park ride movies, but in my opinion, 'The Artist' expresses the love of the essentially visual medium of movie making. I grew up watching silent movies on TV in the 1970s when the BBC often scheduled features, shorts, and compilation shows hosted by Mark Curry and Bob Monkhouse within Children's TV. Although the central character (played with natural ease and perfection by Jean Dujardin)is obviously based in part on Douglas Fairbanks (the character watches, Norma Desmond-like, one of his old movies - recreated clips from Douglas Fairbanks 'Zorro'), George Valentin is more accurately based on actors no-one mentions in reviews because they are now largely forgotten. John Gilbert's silent career as a romantic lead was destroyed when audiences heard his thin willowy voice, and in France, the great actor and comedian Max Linder, who's films inspired all the American silent comedians and film makers. His career declined after the 1st World War. Linder has been virtually erased from Cinema History by dominant American Mythmakers who staked a claim on the pioneering performance and filmmaking of this artist. Check him out. Actors like Charlie Chase are also in the mix. Interestingly, the first 'movie' we see the character starring in looks to be based more on French silent film series like 'Fantome' and 'Judex' than anything Hollywood which is a quiet comment on the international market in film distribution and celebrity that thrived during the silent era. Then there's Peppy; comparisons have been made with Clara Bow, but she was as much a victim of the end of the Silent era, her career being finished in 1933 when she retired. Peppy is more representative of actresses like Joan Crawford who started as an extra in silents but only came into her own when talkies arrived. The film is a film lovers treat, there are moments peppered throughout the film inspired by silent, and not so silent movies. From the still couple on the staircase while the extras plough up and down, down to the choice of typefaces in the captions. Even the dog character stretches back to Cecil Hepworth's 1905 British film 'Rescued by Rover'. And this is why a silent movie(albeit draped in some of the most sumptuous and evocative movie music I've heard since Max Steiner, and some deftly placed sound effects in one sequence) still works and why it still has validity as a style of movie making: The visual becomes paramount, everything that is put into the shot matters, and is there to say something. It is the images that talk, you see the thoughts and the feelings of the characters not only in the way they move or look, but in what they are surrounded by (note the 'Lonely Star' Cinema display after the auction), how the scene is dressed and lit, and what the camera is doing. I was told by my English teacher to 'read the pictures' as well as the words. A silent film heightens the visual. When the camera is tilted during the mirror table scene, it is talking to us (this scene, by the way, cleverly nods to the pool scene in the opening of 'Sunset Boulevard', and at the same time explains how the shot was achieved) Sound, and especially dialogue would have made some scenes impossible or ridiculous; Peppy slipping her arm into George's sleeve speaks more than words could ever do about her feelings, as does the reflection of George on the suit in the clothes shop window and the shadow with a mind of it's own. (All moments inspired by original silent movies) The only point which bothered me was to set 1929 as the point when talkies were to be the new thing, that started as early as 1926, with the Jazz Singer following in 1927 and the first all talking film in 1928 (Lights of New York). By the end of that year all the major studios had converted fully to sound production. A few silents were made through 'til 1933, but not many. It seems like the date was chosen to coincide with the Wall Street Crash, but that event had a greater effect on sound films. If this movie inspires people to look again and reassess their view of silent movies then that is to be hugely welcomed. I would recommend viewers search out old TV series such as 'Cinema Europe', 'Lumiere's Children' and 'The Last Machine'. If you know nothing of silent film and want a unique night out at the Cinema which may well change the way you SEE a film then watch this. To those of you who think silent cinema doesn't have the power to grip in this widescreen 3D download your own theme-park era, I have only one word to quote from the film for you - 'BANG!'