REVIEW: THE ARTIST: PG-13
I admit that I did have my doubts when I walked into the theater. As any gullible fan may know buzzed about films rarely live up to the hype (that is except "Deathly Hallows Part 2" of course). With talks of an Oscar Best Picture win, a recent Best Picture/Best Comedy win from the Critic's Choice and Golden Globe Awards respectively and a premise too good to be true (a throwback to silent movies? That's awesome!) I wasn't sure if I'd like "The Artist" as much as people would think I would.
I proved myself wrong! I LOVED "The Artist," and am accepting the fact it'll win Best Picture. I'm probably on the slim margin of people who like silent movies who are under 80, I loved "Sunrise" and the original Best Picture "Wings," both silent classics. I will be straight up: no kid will want to go see "The Artist" until it sweeps the Academy Awards, like last year for "The King's Speech." And that's a bone I'd like to pick with the academy: Why are you rewarding films that could have been made 100 years ago! Why not reward current, exciting films like "The Descendants" or "Moneyball?"
But I digress: "The Artist" is truly one of the year's best films. With an indescribably good score that's timed just like they did in the 1920's, "The Artist's" pacing is really what helps the time go by. It's got the lightening-quick pace of classic movies, and hearing only the sound of the orchestra is refreshing compared to films who bog down the screenplay with meaningless babbling. Silent movies relied on the emotion conveyed by the actors, with grand, perhaps melodramatic gestures.
There is nothing, however, melodramatic about Jean Dujardin (Do-Jar-Den) and Berenice Bejo's (BEAR-uh-niece BAY-ho) performances. When Bejo's character Peppy Miller (What an amazing name BTW) accidentally stumbles into George Valentin's (Dujardin) red carpet walk and gives him a kiss she becomes an instant sensation. Her slow but steady process from dancing extra to top billing excites everyone but George, who's celebrity seems to shrink and shrink with every new film she pops out. Bejo is delightful as a wide-eyed genuinely innocent fresh face and Dujardin brings a tired but still valiant role to the character of George Valentin. Comparisons to the films "A Star is Born" (while the veteran celebrity falls, the young actor's celebrity rises" and "Singin' in the Rain" (the difficult transition from silent to talkie films) is inevitable, but the movie's so good it's excusable.
If you're growing sick of hearing "The Artist's" named announced on every award show (it just earned 12 nominations from the British version of the Oscars) and you want to see what all the fuss is about, please do. It's a rewarding, bold, extravagant film that can't be copied. A love letter to old cinema indeed, but a masterpiece in its own right.
RATING: 4/4 stars
I proved myself wrong! I LOVED "The Artist," and am accepting the fact it'll win Best Picture. I'm probably on the slim margin of people who like silent movies who are under 80, I loved "Sunrise" and the original Best Picture "Wings," both silent classics. I will be straight up: no kid will want to go see "The Artist" until it sweeps the Academy Awards, like last year for "The King's Speech." And that's a bone I'd like to pick with the academy: Why are you rewarding films that could have been made 100 years ago! Why not reward current, exciting films like "The Descendants" or "Moneyball?"But I digress: "The Artist" is truly one of the year's best films. With an indescribably good score that's timed just like they did in the 1920's, "The Artist's" pacing is really what helps the time go by. It's got the lightening-quick pace of classic movies, and hearing only the sound of the orchestra is refreshing compared to films who bog down the screenplay with meaningless babbling. Silent movies relied on the emotion conveyed by the actors, with grand, perhaps melodramatic gestures.
There is nothing, however, melodramatic about Jean Dujardin (Do-Jar-Den) and Berenice Bejo's (BEAR-uh-niece BAY-ho) performances. When Bejo's character Peppy Miller (What an amazing name BTW) accidentally stumbles into George Valentin's (Dujardin) red carpet walk and gives him a kiss she becomes an instant sensation. Her slow but steady process from dancing extra to top billing excites everyone but George, who's celebrity seems to shrink and shrink with every new film she pops out. Bejo is delightful as a wide-eyed genuinely innocent fresh face and Dujardin brings a tired but still valiant role to the character of George Valentin. Comparisons to the films "A Star is Born" (while the veteran celebrity falls, the young actor's celebrity rises" and "Singin' in the Rain" (the difficult transition from silent to talkie films) is inevitable, but the movie's so good it's excusable.
If you're growing sick of hearing "The Artist's" named announced on every award show (it just earned 12 nominations from the British version of the Oscars) and you want to see what all the fuss is about, please do. It's a rewarding, bold, extravagant film that can't be copied. A love letter to old cinema indeed, but a masterpiece in its own right.
RATING: 4/4 stars
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