Review: The Artist

     I've seen five silent movies in my life, which is about five more than everyone else my age. I've seen the classics Nosferatu, Metropolis, Mel Brook's ill-fated experiment Silent Movie, and Best Picture Winners Wings (1928) and The Artist (2011). Of these silent films, all in black and white save Silent Movie, The Artist is easily the best, with Metropolis as a close second. There are a lot of people out there who don't think that a silent film is something they want to see, they have become accustomed to hearing the voices of the people on screen, and they don't think a story can be told properly through the medium of film without them. In fact, at several screenings of The Artist, people walked out and demanded their money back, not knowing they had paid to see a silent film. What's even more saddening is that there are people out there, particularly of my generation and younger who think the same way about black and white films, that the simple lack of color some how limits the value of the film. I have to say that through my research, a movie, or more simply a story, can be wonderfully executed without sound or color. In fact, sometimes they can be better for it.

     The Artist knows you are watching a silent film and isn't afraid to toy with your expectations. There is a moment early on when the main character, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), is waiting expectedly in the wings to hear the reaction of the audience at the end of the premiere of his latest film. We see Valentin go from waiting for a reaction to celebrating the audiences raucous applause that we cannot hear, and we don't see the audience applauding until after Valentin has begun celebrating. There is also a moment at the end of the film which plays with us in a similar way. I won't describe the scenario as it would give away too much of the plot, but I will say that they play with our expectation about where certain sounds are going to come from. Of course, the film isn't completely silent it has a musical score that accompanies it, just like silent films did back in the day. But there are also some sound effects that occur during an amazing dream sequence as well as a few lines of spoken dialogue right at the end of the film.

     The plot of the movie focuses on Valentin, a successful silent film actor who stars in films with his adorable dog, Uggie. Valentin's silent spy movies (a nod to Dujardin's previous OSS 117 films) are the toast of the town and Valentin is one of Hollywood's biggest stars. He meets a girl named Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) outside the premiere of his latest film. The meeting inspires Peppy to audition for a role as an extra in Valentin's next film, and after she gets the part, the two of them become friends. During filming, Valentin is shown the latest technology in cinema: the talkie. Valentin immediately scoffs at this idea, holding that he doesn't need to be heard to be a great actor, and that talking films don't have a future in Hollywood. To prove this, Valentin sets out to make his own silent movie but it turns out to be a massive failure. This failure, coupled with his refusal to be in a talking picture, causes Valentin to lose all his money as well as his wife, causing him to fall deeper into depression. Meanwhile, Peppy Miller's star is on the rise and we see her transition from an extra to leading lady. Peppy embraces the new technology of sound, and makes a career off of it, yet at the same time she still greatly respects Valentin's work and works hard to help him when she can. It's a story about the oft overlooked category of silent actors who were unable to make the transition to movies with sound. The decision to tell this story through the medium of silent film is an inspired choice.

     Everything about this movie is expertly crafted. All of the actors are perfectly cast and they all give amazing performances. I am always impressed by actors who are able to convey their emotion without speaking or mugging to the camera (a point this film makes several times). Dujardin won a well deserved Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as George Valentin. His immensely expressive face would have fit right in with the silent film stars of yore, and he even is able to wear a pencil mustache as well as Clark

Don't feel bad Jean, at least your moustache doesn't make
you look like John Waters

 Gable. John Goodman also is fantastic in the supporting role of the bombastic studio executive. The film is a remarkable blend of comedy and drama. When things are going well for Valentin we laugh along with him and his antics, but then the film is able to smoothly transition to a more serious tone when things take a turn for the worse. The thing that most impressed me about this film was the attention to details that most people would have missed. It goes beyond the fact that Peppy's phone number only has five digits, which was accurate for the period as there weren't as many telephones as today. What really impressed me were the more technical details. The movie was shot in an 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which was the standard for the silent film era. Today films are mostly shot in 1.85:1 or 2.39:1 which are meant to give the viewer a more immersive experience. The smaller aspect ratio used in The Artist not only gives an authentic silent era viewing experience, but it also makes it easier for the cinematographer to abide by the rule of thirds, which leads to more aesthetically appealing cinematography. The film also was shot at just 22 frames per second, a little slower than the standard 24-30 fps of films today. The slower frame rate makes the action on screen appear slightly more jumpy and less fluid, again adding to the authenticity of the experience. Speaking of the cinematography, director Michel Hazanavicius uses cinematography which resembles the style used during the silent era. There are lots of tight close-ups of the actors' faces as well as some distant, still shots showing people bustling about, which reminded me of shots from Fritz Lang's silent masterpiece Metropolis. I cannot say how much I loved this film, in my opinion it is the best film to win The Academy Award for Best Picture (the first silent film to do so since the first Best Picture winner, 1928's Wings) in over a decade. It's a film that everyone can and should enjoy. I would give it a lower rating if only I could think of a reason to take points away, but since I cannot, I must say that The Artist is a perfect film.

Rating: 10/10 - Enlightened