In today’s cinema, it is almost unheard of to return to the old way of making movies before color – and especially before sound. With the IMAX and 3D technology that exists, it is obvious why this is true – even when sound was first invented, film studios never looked back. “The Artist” takes a huge risk of being a film that takes place in the late 1920’s (through the ’30s) before the invention of sound – being a silent, black-and-white film with a 1:33 aspect ratio and it is one of the best pictures of the year – if not the best. It is a perfect cinematic experience that leaves the audience proud to have seen it.
George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silent film star at the top of his career. When Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) arrives on the scene with the coming of sound, however, Valentin is immediately discarded as a relic of the past. It is a tale of riches to rags, but with an ending that may not be foreseen. The fantastic cast also includes John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle, Ed Lauter, Beth Grant, and Malcolm McDowell. It is a treat to witness these actors in a different element and succeeding at it thoroughly.
Relatively unknown, director Michel Hazanavicius and lead actor Jean Dujardin were recognized at the Cannes Film Festival with a Palme d’Or nomination for Hazanavicius and a Best Actor win for Dujardin. Dujardin gives one of the best leading performances of the year, carrying the film – without whom the film would simply not be the same. At an estimated budget of $12 million, films like these go to show that budgets don’t need to be out of control to achieve high quality.
Another noteworthy triumph is the film’s score. The score is completely vital to this picture, providing the energy and tone for each well crafted scene leaving the actors to fill in the rest. The whole film is completely like that of an old silent film from the time it takes place, with some of the best acting the screen has had to offer to date. It is interesting to see a film that takes place early in the history of cinema using the same techniques over eighty years later in a time of such technological advancement.
Like all excellent films of the past year, “The Artist” is undergoing a modest limited release possibly due to the divergent nature of the film itself. The entertained and joyful audience reflects the ones shown in the film at the silent pictures of George Valentin, taking its audience back to how things used to be in the best way possible. It is a deeply heartwarming, rarity of a masterpiece that will hopefully be considered a classic as time goes by.
“The Artist” is now playing in select theaters.
