Sunday 29 January 2012

The Artist - a feel good look at 1930s cinema

The Artist (2011):
Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break.(IMDb)

I was a bit unsure what I would think of The Artist. It is by a relatively unknown French director (Michel Hazanavicius), the trailer didn't give much away and it is very different to the types of films I usually watch. But I had only heard positive things about it, so I made sure I went in with an open mind. And I'm glad I did.


Even though it isn't the best film I've seen recently, it was enjoyable and it does have some stand out qualities.

It's a black and white film and the majority of it is in the style of a traditional silent movie, with the only sound being orchestra and piano music. This gives a good insight to what it might have been like to be a film goer in the early 1930s (or at least I think it does). Also, as the story focuses on a silent movie star during the transition of silent movies to 'talkies' it also gives an interesting view of the movie industry during this period and an idea of what it was like to be behind the camera.

Initially I found the soundtrack quite annoying and even though it does use 'caption screens' to tell the viewer what is being said, I was still wishing that I was better at lip reading than I am. However, I soon got used to it and even found myself whistling along to the music by the end. Hazanavicius has also used some clever artistic techniques to break up the music and I felt these helped to make my experience more enjoyable.

IMDb describes The Artist as Romance/ Comedy/ Drama. It isn't a laugh out loud comedy but it is humorous throughout and the romantic theme didn't dominate either. There was a bit of a dip in the middle where I started losing interest a little, but it quickly picked up again, especially when it became a bit tense and I found myself starting to care about the characters.

In conclusion it's an enjoyable, feel good film that is worth a watch. It shows you a bit of movie history that you might not have seen before and it's completely different to any other modern films. I think the silent movie style aspect works well overall, but I'm glad this isn't the norm and I probably won't be rushing to watch any of the silent movies that The Artist pays homage to.

Rating: ****

My star rating system: A 'How much effort should I make to watch it?' scale:

*     = Don't bother
**    = One to watch when it comes on TV
***   = One to rent / borrow off a friend
****  = One to buy on DVD
***** = One to watch at the cinema

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