As a film critic, I obviously watch a lot of movies. Each year, though, there are a few that slip by me, and every so often, I like to make an effort to catch up. This time around, I selected The Artist, and to be quite frank, I wish I had chosen something else. Though it’s certainly charming, it doesn’t come anywhere close to living up to the hype surrounding it.
Directed by Michel Hazanavicius and released in 2011, the film stars Jean Dujardin as “George Valentin,” a silent movie star terrified by the advent of talking pictures. “Peppy Miller” (Bérénice Bejo), on the other hand, is a young, beautiful actress with a career that’s just beginning. Of course, their destinies of the two are intertwined, and we follow them as one descends into darkness and the other rises to fame.
Is it a cute story? Sure. Is it entertaining? Reasonably, yes. The trouble is that it’s so devoted to paying homage to a time gone by that it doesn’t do anything new. It’s an old-fashioned silent film, plain and simple, and there’s nothing in it that brings it into the 21st century. I think I would have rather just watched something made in the 1920s, rather than a modern imitation.
Thankfully, though, the actors prevent the film from being a complete waste. Dujardin and Bejo have palpable chemistry, and both are expressive enough to keep us engaged in their characters’ journeys. I’m glad that they’ve had more opportunities in movies in which they’re actually allowed to speak.
If you’re in the mood for something classic, watch a classic, and give The Artist a pass. The fact that it won five Oscars for being utterly derivative baffles me.
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