The Artist Movie Review

This year has had it movies about nostalgia that's for sure. Hugo took us back to the roots of cinema and reminded us why we feel in love with movies in the first place. My Week With Marilyn brought us back to the days of the 1950s and brought one of film's biggest stars with it. Even Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris featured one of my favorite writers F. Scott Fitzgerald in the story. Least to say nostalgia was in the air. Then we come to The Artist, a silent film that radiates and glorifies the days of silent cinema. Shot in black and white and done in silence, The Artist transports you back to the days of the glory days of silent film. Was this able to work though? Would director Michel Hazanavicius be able to bring silent film to life in a day and age where new silent films are hard to find? Read on to see my thoughts...

The Artist stars Jean Dujardin as George Valentin, a silent film superstar at the peak of his career, who bumps into Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) whose destinies seemed to be intertwined. Soon "talkies" are introduced to Hollywood and as Peppy starts to rise, George begins to slowly fall apart losing his money, stardom, and even his wife. Peppy soon becomes the biggest starlet of the big screen and must find a way before  George's career is over or something even worse happens.


2011 has been a year of big extremes in my opinion. We have had some awful movies come out this year like Jack and Jill, another Twilight film, and the god awful Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star. On the other extreme though we have seen some fantastic pieces of cinema that will stick with us for a while; like The Tree Of Life, The Descendants, and Drive. The Artist also falls into one of these extreme categories but luckily falls into the fantastic one. You don't see films like The Artist everyday or every year. It takes on today's dialogue filled audiences and asks them to sit back and let the visuals do the talking. It is brilliant in every step it takes and never drops a beat for a second. It grasps your attentions and doesn't let go for the whole ride. This is a MUST SEE movie that is going to be worth every single penny.

The highlight of this film is the powerful, lovable, emotionally gripping performance given by Jean Dujardin as Valentin. As the film begins he is everything that is silent film. He over the top motions, he grand smile, and his bigger than life personality reminds me of all the classic silent films that I watch and study. One scene in particular at the breakfast table where he mirrors the motion of his dog brought a big smile to my face and stands as one of my favorite parts of the film. As the film progress and Valentin's career starts to fall apart, Dujardin takes us on one of the most emotional journeys of the year. It breaks our hearts to watch his life fall apart and how broken of a man he becomes. Indeed one of the best male acting performances of the year along with Clooney in The Descendants. Dujardin is reason enough to go to the theater to watch this movie but luckily not the only reason.

Dujardin also has one heck of an incredible supporting cast to back him up. Berenice Bejo does a stellar job as Peppy Miller able to not steal any scenes from Jean Dujardin but brings a huge emotional impact to the film. She was able to combine sheer excitement over he new career with guilt over destroying Valentin's career. Other highlights include John Goodman playing a movie executive perfectly and James Cromwell, who for such a short amount of screen time brings a lot of power to the film, as Dujardin's driver.

Though a lot of this movie has many thanks to the brilliant mind of Michel Hazanavicius who is the man behind this whole story. His direction is fantastic and even matches the old silent film era. I immediately felt like I was in the 1920s sitting in an old theater watching this film. The scenes are great, the sets themselves feel nostalgic, and best of all the story is brilliant. Hazanavicius builds a beautiful story about the rise of sound and the fall of silent film. He takes us on a daring ride and gives us an emotional powerhouse of a film that we have been looking for all year. He combines romance, drama, comedy, and suspense all together for this instant masterpiece of film. Plus this film includes one of the best title cards that contends with Battleship Potemkin. 


Overall everything about this movie works and goes beyond that. It gives more than we ask and in a good way. The score, the direction, the editing, and most of all the acting come together to make one of the best movies to come out this year. The Artist is a must see by every means and you will understand too once you see it. Even though the film is silent it doesn't feel like that and you even forget that its silent throughout the film. You will love it as it brings a fresh output to the silent film genre and brings loads of nostalgia with it. See it, love it, and enjoy it.

5/5