A Consummate Example of Pure Cinema.

Rating: 9/10 (28 May 2012)

"The Artist", directed by Michel Hazanavicius, is an exquisite love letter not only to silent cinema, but to the Golden Age of Hollywood. Inspired by the likes of "A Star is Born" and "Singin' in the Rain", this five time Academy Award winner, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, successfully uses silent film technique to enhance the story rather than using it as a gimmick to attract attention.
If there is an artist in this film, then it is the director for brilliantly using all the devices of cinema to create a world that does not need sound: it is a world unto itself, inhabited by people like Jean Dujardin, who seemingly effortlessly make us understand his psychosocial and emotional state through his body language. It is a difficult task for any actor, but Dujardin pulls it off with aplomb.
The direction too is outstanding, fully utilising all manner of cinematic tricks to show what can be done; this is pure film using images to convey the plot without relying on dialogue.
In fact the only two uses of sound are marvellously handled: the first, in a wonderfully surreal dream of Valentin, his fears plague him with a nightmare about the coming of "talkies" to Hollywood. Then normal sound is restored in the very final scene and the effect is like watching your very first movie: magical.
The score by Ludovic Bource is very, very good, underlining the emotional resonance boldly, adding another layer of excellence to the film.
If it has any faults, it is that in quoting such a vast array of cinematic legends, from Fritz Lang to "Citizen Kane" (1941), "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) to Douglas Fairbanks, it sabotages itself by being too sophisticated and knowing; this is not a film that could ever have been made in the 1920's. However, it is a small flaw when put into perspective against the joy and freedom of expression found in the silent film technique that overflows onto the screen.
This is a consummate example of what the cinema can do when all of the film's makers are at the top of their talent and skill; breathtaking.