The Artist: ” … “
The Artist arrives on our screens amidst a blizzard of Oscar hype. It’s is a rare thing – a genuinely silent movie. Since the advent of ‘talkies’ in 1929, these have been few and far between, and there certainly hasn’t been a silent mainstream cinematic release in the 21st century. Its silence is perhaps appropriate, as its story centres on silent movie star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin). The movie opens with the premiere of his new film, A Russian Affair. We see the audience in the auditorium as they are enthralled by the on screen action, before George (along with his dog) comes out from behind the screen to take the plaudits. George is a man who is clearly self-satisfied – the king of Hollywoodland.
Obviously, The Artist’s blissful state of affairs cannot last, or the film would be fairly tedious. We discover that George is unhappily married – his wife scribbles on all the images of him that appear in the papers, giving him gaps in his teeth, absurd monocles, silly facial hair – he meets and is clearly falling for young dancer/actress Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) and, worst of all, ‘talkies’ – films with actual sound are on the horizon.
The Artist reveals itself to have two strands. The first is the changing situation in Hollywood in the late twenties and early thirties, bringing about the collapse of George’s career. The second, set against this background, is a love story. As his marriage falls apart, George grows closer to the increasingly successful Peppy. Can their obvious feelings for each other survive the fact that he’s drifting into oblivion, while she’s growing into one of the biggest stars around?
One of the major positives of The Artist is that the restraints placed by silence seem to have brought a real focus to the writing. There’s no possibility of providing exposition through the dialogue, so there’s no opportunity for laziness. Each scene has to pull its weight and add something. In one particularly memorable sequence we see George and Peppy fall for each other on the set of a film – they are shooting a single, simple scene in which George is meant to briefly dance with Peppy. Through a series of retakes we see them corpse, dance together for far too long, even move in for a kiss. All wordless, but the meaning is clear.
There are a number of lovely scenes like this one in The Artist, and as much as I enjoyed The Artist, I’m not convinced it’s the masterpiece it’s being made out to be. While undoubtedly a charming film, I suspect that it’s the novelty factor as much as the cinematic merit of The Artist that that has caused all the hype. While it’s an impressive achievement, and clearly a labour of love on behalf of the writer and director Michel Hazavanicius, as well as being love letter to Hollywood, I suspect that without it’s USP it might not be regarded as highly as it is.
And since the director has chosen to almost recreate a silent movie in the style of classic silent movies (there are brief scenes when the audience is reminded of the film’s modernity – such as the shot of the audience watching Valentin’s movie, or the dream sequence where he can hear noises, but not speak) the vast majority of The Artist plays as a silent movie that we might be familiar with from the early days of Hollywood. As there’s therefore little in terms of experimentation, it becomes to an extent, simply an exercise in form. Hazavanicius has set himself some restrictions to work within and he does so very successfully. However, it would have been fascinating to instead see, for example, a silent movie set in the contemporary world, with a compelling reason for its silence, or some other modern take on the form.
That said, creating a silent movie for a modern audience is a bold move, and the film has been executed with aplomb. Go to see it expecting an enjoyable and unusual experience, and I think you’ll be happy. Go in expecting a cinematic revolution and you might be disappointed.
The Artist: Ranked 9th in Top Films of 2011
Oscar Winner Best Film – 84th Academy Awards
By That Film Guy 09/01/2012 - 22:02
I’m astounded that you only gave it 3 and a half stars. I reckon you’re about a star off with that one. I like your argument and agree it’s not the world-beater that it’s being hyped as, but it’s definitely one of the best films of the year, from a director who showed more passion in one scene that most do in a 90 minute movie.
By le filme guy 09/01/2012 - 22:34
A few points: First, I think I tend to be a bit tougher in my star rankings than you – so a 3.5 from me is probably worth a four from you.
Second, I suspect that I have been influenced by the hype around this film – for me it was slightly disappointing given my very high expectations, and though I might be flattering myself if I think people might base their expectations on a review of mine, but I think you might get a lot more out of it if you don’t expect too much, so I was maybe aiming to dampen expectations a little. It is good – just not as good as i was hoping it would be.
Third, I re-watched The Illusionist this week, which has a similar changing landscape of entertainment theme, and which is so wonderful that anything similar suffers by comparison.
By That Film Guy 09/01/2012 - 22:49
Hmmm, I actually thought I’d been reasonably harsh in my criticism thus far, but no where near as harsh as yourself. Perhaps subjecting myself to films like Transformers 3 or Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 make me realise just how good films like these really are.
What is your favourite film out of curiosity? What’s a 5 star classic to you?
By le filme guy 09/01/2012 - 22:59
That’s a valid point actually – as I review far fewer new releases than you, and pick and choose my films a bit more, so I’m much less subjected to rubbish than you (for example, having watched Transformers 1, I know I don’t need to see 2 or 3). So I guess maybe that makes me less appreciative of the good ones that come along.
Looking back on my list of reviews, I’ve only given the full five stars two or three times – so for example, The Lives of Others didn’t get 5… Favourite film is a very hard question. I’m tempted to say The Third Man, but I reserve the right to change my mind at any time…
By Natasha Ball 09/01/2012 - 23:20
The hype outside of France can’t be anywhere as near as the past 12-week hype over here in Paris. I finally got round to seeing it last week, and I have to say I loved it. I did feel it dragged a little in the middle, and I think that perhaps I have been swept up by the hype surrounding it, but I thought the acting was superb, and the dancing takes you mentioned were fantasic. If Jean Dujardin gets the Oscar, it would be “la cerise sur le gateau” as they say here (though I highly doubt that’s going to happen — a nomination would be grand).
By That Film Guy 10/01/2012 - 00:00
I would argue that Transformers is like Citizen Kane to Transformers 2 and 3, but that’s another story.
The Oscars love an underdog story going into them, it allows them to seem like they have their finger on the pulse without actually having to let it win. If there’s any justice We Need to Talk About Kevin or Hugo will win, but seeing as Senna got overlooked in the Documentary category I’m sure something Oscar baity like The Descendents will nick it. They do love George after all.
What’s taking Best Foreign Picture this year do you think? (assuming The Artist is in the main category?) Looking back at past award winners in this category, so really big hitting films missed out to much lesser ones. I notice Pan’s Labyrinth and Downfall both missed out for example.
By le filme guy 10/01/2012 - 08:51
I don’t understand how Senna could not even be shortlisted. I think you could make a strong case for it being in the Best Film category, let alone Best Documentary.
As for Best Foreign Picture – I couldn’t even guess. Partly because many films make the list long before they get a UK release. For example, last year’s winner, In A Better World, didn’t come out until almost six months after it won the Oscar.
By That Film Brat 10/01/2012 - 14:40
I would say The Secret World Of Arrietty was the best foreign film I saw this year, though it won’t be in the Oscars because it comes out in the US in 2012. It better be in the 2013 run.
I would call My Week With Marylin the best film I saw this year and I really hope it’s at least nominated for best picture.
By Natasha Ball 10/01/2012 - 22:41
I read over here that for Best Foreign Picture, the French are putting forward a film called La Guerre est Declaree, about how a mother and father react to their baby getting cancer. It was written and directed by the mother and the parents are actually played by the real parents. It’s an interesting story, not about the cancer but about the relationship between the couple, and the camera shots are great, but like The Artist, it has suffered from the hype around it over here. I was expecting it to be better, I have to say.