It's All About the Image

Rating: 6/10 (26 January 2012)

I went into this film with high expectations and came out disappointed. I attended an afternoon matinée expecting to have the cinema pretty much to myself but the place was full. The audience were fairly mature so I suspect there was a special admission price. On the face of it they might have been pre-disposed to like a film that referenced older productions. There was some very low key laughter at the antics of the dog but otherwise little reaction from the audience which I took to be a reflection of a general lack of engagement.
I didn't mind that the story was corny and I really really liked the music, especially when they let it rip in the dramatic sequences. But I was very disappointed with the cinematography and that's what killed it for me. The best (original) black and white films, sound or silent, have a numinous quality about them which draws you in and can make you gasp at its sheer beauty (for instance Sunset Boulevard, which the Artist borrows from, Rebecca or Lean's Oliver Twist). As someone who likes to SHOUT rather more than I do has pointed out, the film-makers seem to have achieved a rather muddy image only getting close to a good high contrast black and white look in the last few minutes!
The Artist is all about the image in more ways than one. The lack of dialogue didn't bother me but I expected the black and white to be rendered much more artfully. I suspect it's also about image in the praise it has received – the critics liked it and it and as praise is heaped upon it, it becomes more difficult to dissent.
The Artist isn't a bad film. It's a great idea, let down by the photography which just isn't good enough. It deserves an audience and there is a lot of pleasure to be had in watching it but it just isn't anywhere near as good as most of the critics and reviews on IMDb suggest.