The Artist (2011)

The Artist is a truly unique movie to see in 2011. It’s a French black-and-white silent film, which is something that’s very difficult to imagine finding an audience. Set in the late ‘20s and early ‘30s, it follows the two parallel careers of silent movie star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and the up and coming actress, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). George is a star comparable to Douglas Fairbanks, in that he makes a lot of action and swashbuckling adventure films. He’s completely devoted to his craft of making silent movies, so much so that he resists the advent of sound. After helping to discover Peppy, her film career blossoms as she becomes a star of the talkies while his rapidly declines.

All in all, the story’s not terribly complex nor is it original. What the movie’s really about is the shift from silent to sound cinema and the impact it had on the former stars. His pride in his art prevents him from adapting to the way of the future and it costs him dearly. In reality his struggle is not so different from many of the real life actors whose careers faded into obscurity after the 1920s. Of course this topic has been covered before, and quite famously. After a few minutes I was reminded of Singin’ in the Rain, the only real difference being where that movie was a lighthearted musical comedy, The Artist is a silent melodrama. The heart of the story centers around the relationship between Peppy and George, although it’s mostly one sided. She falls in love with him and he’s attracted to her at the start, but after their initial meetings they spend the majority of the movie apart, with the focus mainly being on George’s personal struggle to survive in a changing world. It would have been nice to see more time spent on developing their romance, but that isn’t what the story is really about. As for its central ideas, does this movie say anything different or shed any new light on the issue? The answer is: not really. It’s a straightforward and simple plot that echoes other movies like A Star is Born (which has been remade a few times). If you are at all familiar with the actor’s struggle in Hollywood than this story probably won’t be very eye-opening. What it lacks in original and fresh material, it more than makes up for with the great performances of the lead actors and the stunning visual style. 

Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo

First, the acting. The two leads, Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, give amazing performances and seem like genuine stars of the silent screen. So much emotion is conveyed in their expressions without the sense that they’re “mugging for the camera” (as Peppy describes silent film acting in the movie). Jean Dujardin is particularly good and displays an amazing range, showing his capabilities for visual comedy, drama, and even some impressive dance skills. Bérénice Bejo is a beautiful actress and she lights up the screen, making it very easy to believe her in the role of a classic movie star. The energy that comes from the actors is potent and carries the weight of the personal drama that unfolds. The rest of the cast includes some surprising cameos and supporting roles from actors like John Goodman as the head of Kinograph Studios, James Cromwell as George’s loyal butler/chauffer, and if you blink you’ll miss Malcolm McDowell.

Visually, this is an amazing film, but it needs to be stressed that this is a silent movie and not in the sense that the Pixar shorts are usually without dialog. Director Michel Hazanavicius fashioned it as a silent film from the ‘20s in just about every way you can imagine. From the style of opening credits to the 4:3 aspect ratio – it even has a significant amount of grayscale – it’s as if this movie came from the time of its setting. Every single shot is carefully staged in a way that brings the Hollywood of the ‘20s to life. Everything from the camera angles to the placement of the characters on-screen exudes the style of old silent films. The way shots are framed within the limited aspect ratio creates a look to the film that’s just not seen in other modern movies. There are many fascinating scenes in The Artist, but the greatest and most poignant is the nightmare George has. It only lasts for a few minutes, but in those brief moments you get a perfect metaphor for the entire conflict of the story, and it resonates throughout the rest of the movie.

The Artist is one of the must see movies of the year. It’s a silent film and I’m practical enough to know that many people just won’t be interested in seeing an entire movie without dialogue or sound effects, but those people will be missing out on something special.