Absolutely Splendid

Rating: 9/10 (10 December 2011)

I don't think I have seen a single negative thing written about this film, so going into the theater, it is fair to say that I had high expectations.
"The Artist" fulfilled all of them. The acting is fantastic, reminding us that body movements and twitches can convey a great deal of emotion. George Valentin's (Jean Dujardin) expression and posture slowly change as his life falls apart, helping the viewer feel what he is going through viscerally. Pippyy Miller's (Bérénice Bejo) smile conveys spunk and charm in a way that many actors cannot with large chunks of dialogue at their disposal. John Goodman portrays an incredibly stereotypical business-oriented Hollywood director brilliantly, his comical frustrations supplying much of the comedy present in this movie.
From a cinematographic point of view, "The Artist" is stunning as well. Memorable shot after memorable shot showed up on the screen, whether it be a couple of fictional native Indians appearing on a bar counter to harass our protagonist, a suit fitting a reflection of him wonderfully, or a screen separating our destined tap dancers. The director, Michael Hazanavicius, also plays with sound wonderfully, with a lovely soundtrack providing plenty of audio-stimulation. However, in the climactic scene, there is absolute silence, actually provoking surprisingly strong emotions in the viewer. The last scene is absolutely brilliant on a number of levels, but I will not mention it here because it is worth experiencing without being told what happens.
But as well done as these two elements are, it is conceptually where this movie excels. "The Artist" tells the story of the change from silent films to "talkies", and the difficulties it could cause to some of Hollywood's past stars. It's key message seems to be: "Go with the flow". Pride and vanity will leave you by the wayside, and in the case of our principal character, suicidal. It is ironic (and certainly not accidental) that this is a silent movie about the transition to ones with talking, and it uses a great mix of 1920's style scenes with ones that are undoubtedly modern and current, showing that the movie itself is not afraid to do what is new or unexpected (and then, of course, it is funny that a black and white silent movie is totally out of the mainstream now).
My only gripe would be that the all-knowing dog is relied upon too much. I understand that it is an exaggerated character designed to emulate similar plot devices from the time period, but although it works greatly as a sidekick, when it takes over the action, its charm wears off.
This was a pretty poorly conceived review, but it includes all of my basic ideas about "The Artist". Go see it for yourself!