The Artist
is a sleek movie about a silent film actor George Valentin ( played by
Frenchman Jean Dujardin) who experiences the demise of his career with
rise of “talkies” or movies with sound. As George’s star declines, one
of the youthful extras in his movies Peppy Miller’s (Berenice Bejo)
career soars as she embraces the new technology. George and Pepper have
incredible chemistry, but George’s pride won’t let him join in on the
ingenue’s success. Because the movie is in black and white and is
silent, it has been getting a lot of Oscar buzz. Indeed, in this day
and age of car chases and CGI effects, it is rare to see a story
stripped down to its basics. Also, to tell the story of the demise of
silent film via a silent film is so cheeky. When the director Michel
Hazanavicius does use sound, he uses it very sparingly and only to
greatly enhance the story. Although I enjoyed the human story very
much, the real scene stealer was George’s adorable Jack Russell Terrier
who was a companion both on and off the set. That dog acted its butt
off. I also enjoyed James Cromwell
who played George’s loyal driver Clifton. [However, whenever Cromwell
was onscreen, I could not help saying to myself “That ‘ill do, pig.” (see Babe)] In any case, The Artist is a sweet if silent ode to days gone by.
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