The Artist; 2011, dir. by Michel Hazanavicius

starring Jean DuJardin and Bérénice Bejo

[spoiler alert]

Saw this one last night! It and “Midnight in Paris” are the only Best Picture Oscar noms I’ve seen this year. I am ambivalent about (or maybe just disappointed by) the nominee selections, as, at least in these two, I found too many glaring snags in the fabric of the stories.

But first off, I thought Bérénice Bejo was an outstanding casting choice for Peppy Miller. Her look, naive yet gorgeous, an ideal ingenue, as well as her sense of humor, silently expressed in a funny scene in the dressing room of the object of her infatuation, brought the majority of the film’s zest and energy to the screen.

Technical or narrative issues aside, The Artist is definitely one I’d recommend seeing on the big screen, if only because it IS a silent film. Being surrounded by other audience members, hearing the film’s musical accompaniment loud and in surround, and seeing the exaggerated acting styles even more “blown up” are keys to the overall artistic objective of a modern-day director utilising and innovating a virtually-retired film technique.

I was frustrated by a lack of development in George Valentin and Peppy Miller’s relationship/characters/motivation for a “two year” segment of the film — what is he doing with his time? why doesn’t he do something with his frustration and why can’t she go to him sooner?

The idea of a silent film about making silent films is a fun one that produced some neat directorial choices, such as a scene where an actor (whose life, as we see it, is somewhere in limbo between reality and what’s on the screen) suddenly can hear the sound of his clinking glass, of dropping his hair comb, of his faithful dog companion barking, of closing a drawer— everything except his own voice. 

What’d you think of the film?