I enjoyed The Artist. It oozes charming, is entertaining and it has a cute dog. I'm certainly not one of the few imbeciles who've walked out in disgust because of the lack of dialogue but I did wonder, if you strip out the fact that it is a silent movie would everyone be gushing quite so much? And the conclusion I came to is 'no'.
The story is interesting enough if not wholly predictable and the stuff of several movies before it. But, the lack of dialogue pushes the actors into a different direction, a different style of acting not seen since the, well since the last silent movies and it is really refreshing to watch.
I think what pushes The Artist beyond the gimmick tag is the choices that director Hazanavicius made. In interviews he says he didn't set out to make a silent film but decided that a silent movie was the best way to tell the story. The Artist was an artistic decision, is full of artistic decisions and wonderful vision.
It was also a genius choice not to stick doggedly to the silence but to add sound to one sequence, when our silent hero has a nightmare. It's a really nice touch and works perfectly in the context of the story.
However, what pleases me most about The Artist is that a film like this is getting so much attention at the big awards. It's refreshing to see something different win, something that doesn't tick the usual boxes that gets a film on a short-list.
My only fear or rather prediction is that there will be a string of copycats hitting cinema screens in the next couple of years. These won't be genius, these will lack imagination beyond trying to cash in. These will be gimmicky.
The Artist is definitely worth a look, it will put a smile on your face - Uggie the dog will put a smile on your face. The two lead actors Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo ooze old fashion beauty and charm, they are almost luminous on the screen, it quite takes your breath away.
I look forward to seeing it again with a live orchestra sometime in the future. It is inevitable.
It's getting 80% from me. On IMDb it's got 85% with a Metacritic score of 89%. While on Rotten Tomatoes it's got 97% from critics and 91% of site visitors have given it 3.5 stars or more.
Comments