THE ARTIST

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

GRADE: A +

Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, Penelope Ann Miller, John Goodman, James Cromwell and Malcolm McDowell

Written and Directed by Michel Hazanavicius

The movie everyone has been talking about is finally here. Is it brilliant? Is it a gimmick? Is the best film of last year, or an overrated, silly melodrama? 
 
Silent film star George Valentin (Dujardin) is posing for pictures at the premiere of his latest film, A Russian Affair, when a woman, Peppy Miller (Bejo), admiring Valentin while lost in a sea of adoring fans, drops her purse. She bends down to get it and is accidentally pushed into Valentin. She ends up photographed, and the next day, she is on the front page of Variety with the headline "Who's That Girl?" Later, Miller auditions as a dancer and is spotted by Valentin. He insists she have a part in his new film, despite objections from the studio boss, Al Zimmer (played by John Goodman.). Miller's star makes a meteoric rise, and soon she is something of a sensation.

Two years later, Zimmer announces the end of production of silent films, but Valentin insists that sound is just a fad. When Zimmer unloads all his silent stars, Valentin decides to produce and direct his own silent film, financing it himself. But as it happens, it opens on the very same day as Beauty Mark, the new Peppy Miller talkie. Is the silent film truly dead? And by extension, is Valentin destined to become a relic?

To categorize The Artist merely as a silent film is a bit misleading – it's a salute to the old fashioned silent film, but there is a delightful touch of surreal experimental-ism to it that transcends the genre. Director Hazanvicius takes full advantage of the fact that he is making a silent film in the sound era to create some truly magical moments. But none of them quite compare to the magical moment created by Bejo, a devastatingly engaging actress (who happens to also be Mrs. Hazanvicius.). The acclaim being given to Dujardin for his performance is well deserved, but for me, it was Bejo who made the biggest impression. Whenever the actress is on screen she commands the camera in a way I haven't seen in a while, particularly in a sequence wherein a yet to be famous Peppy wanders into Valentin's empty dressing room and sticks her am in his jacket sleeve, and using the jacket to mimic being embrace by the Hollywood star. Charlie Chaplin himself could not have gotten more out of this moment, and it manages to be cute, whimsical and very moving at the same time. This is a movie that revels in it's own simplicity, unashamedly presenting itself as an old fashioned melodrama, with story elements that might seem trite if they were not played with such sincerity. But underneath the simplicity are many complex layers, and the subtext of the movie only gets more meaningful upon repeat viewing. The beautiful black and white cinematography, and bouncy, captivating musical score by Ludovic Bource, set the scene and the period perfectly. A minor controversy has erupted over the usage of some music from Bernard Hermann's score for the Alfred Hitchcock classic Vertigo, with some saying the choice was uncreative and distracting, and famed Hollywood star Kim Novak comparing the usage of the music to rape (speaking of melodrama.). Truthfully, as an enthusiastic fan of Hitchcock, Hermann and film music itself, I have to honestly admit that I was so utterly swept up in the movie that I didn't even notice it after having seen the movie twice – it wasn't until I read about it that I even made the connection. This movie is that good. At the same time, if you go in expecting to see the wheel reinvented, you may walk away disappointed. This is a movie that knows what it wants to be and achieves greatness by being just that, not by trying to be anything else.

In the end, if there is one complaint I have with The Artist, it's that the story of Valentin's struggles in wrapped a little too neatly and easily in the end. But then again, this is a genre film. It's not just a movie – it's a movie of a movie. Hazanavicius gives us the happy ending that we expect and truly want to see, and it's a memorable one. The Artist ranks among the best films of 2011, and is a very welcome change of pace.

The Artist is rated PG-13 for mild peril, adult themes and a crude gesture.