The Artist

Movies about movies, whether based in fact or fiction, can be a very interesting premise for a film. As in the case of "The Artist", the story of the rise and fall and rise again of movie stars, in this case wasn't what I would necessarily call original, but the process in which the film was done is what made this so cleverly made.

It's Hollywoodland, or as it's called today, Hollywood, 1927. As silent movie star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is at the top of his game, he soon wonders and worries if the arrival of talking pictures (talkies) will cause him to fade into oblivion.

He meets a young dancer, Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) at an audition and helps her get into the biz by talking his producer, Al Zimmer (John Goodman) into giving her a break. She really likes and has great respect for George, even though she knows he's married to an actress, Doris (Penelope Ann Miller). So the relationship stayed platonic, even though George's and Doris' marriage soon ends up on the rocks.

As Peppy accepts this new process of talking pictures, George only sees it as a fad which fuels his spiraling status while Peppy's status only rises. What will happen to George on many different levels?

This film was about 99% silent and that being the case, the director Michel Hazanavicius ("Mes amis" '99, "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies" '06, OSS 117: Lost in Rio" '09) had to know how to get these actors to show raw emotion so the audience knew exactly what was going on. There was dialogue on the screen, as with any silent film, but it was these actors' ability to be as expressive as it took to relay a message they were putting across. This is also good acting, especially by Dujardin and Bejo. This was also written (scenario and dialogue) by Hazanavicius. There could've been a bit more dialogue shown on the screen, not that one couldn't figure out what was happening.

Others to round out the cast are James Cromwell as Clifton, Missi Pyle as Constance, Beth Grant as Peppy's maid, Ed Lauter and Malcolm Mcdowell as Butlers, Ken Davitian as Pawn Broker, Joel Murray as Policeman Fire, Basil Hoffman as Auctioneer, and Uggie as the dog, who steals the show in many scenes.

The original music by Ludovic Bource was brilliant! It definitely fit the exact feel of the film, and was an integral part of the film, since it was silent. Kudos! And the great black & white photography shot by Guillaume Schiffman, afc had an up to date quality to it, however still had a subtle old time look about it at the same time.

This was a truly entertaining film. Anyone who is a film buff will revel with this type of film. I'll tell you, if an alien came to this planet and saw this, they would think that it's an old film; it is just that realistic to the era. 

Out of 4 stars: 3.5                     Rated: PG-13                        100min.