Gimmick? Lost art form? Both? Neither?
The Artist is a black and white, mostly silent film that was released in 2011. It is not for everyone.
The film tells of the opposite career trajectories of an actor and an actress in late-1920s and early-1930s Hollywood.
Valentin (Dujardin) and his trusty companion, Jack the Dog
George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silent film star at the height of his notoriety. His action/adventure films star his charming dog, Jack. Audiences love the duo. Leaving the premiere of his latest film, he has a chance encounter with a young unknown, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), that is captured on the front page of Hollywood trade magazine, Variety.
With the magazine in hand, Peppy, an aspiring star, heads to Kinograph Studios, where Valentin makes films, and ends up getting a minuscule part on his next picture despite the protests of Kinograph head, Al Zimmer (John Goodman). Valentin argues with Zimmer and Peppy stays in the picture, Valentin tells her she needs something that makes her unique. With a makeup pen, he gives her the beauty mark that would become her trademark.
The radient, talented Bejo
In only a few years though, Peppy’s career explodes as movies with audio (“talkies”), which are her forte, come to prominence. Soon, even Kinograph pledges to no longer make silent pictures. Valentin’s star fades quickly. As the Great Depression hits, Valentin struggles to make it as his possessions are auctioned.
The rest of the film unfolds in a charming, unsurprising manner. The Artist explores the phenomenon of a latest-greatest innovation, and the havoc that those breakthroughs have on the lives of the practitioners of the old style.
As a person who has watched his fair share of silent films, I found this one to gracefully use of some of the conventional silent film tricks. Both lead actors are very expressive and do and incredible job of portraying feelings and emotions through actions and facial expressions. That said, the style my be jarring to some film-goers.
Both a throwback and a homage, The Artist celebrates a historic style, but also tells an excellent, engrossing story that is all its own.
