Chances are, you've probably never seen anything quite like French director Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist." That's because it is a silent movie shot entirely in black and white. Yes, you read that correctly. The subtitled black-and-white film was released in 2011. Even the picture quality is grainy. Although its premise may seem a little off-putting to the average 21st-Century moviegoer, "The Artist" is actually a refreshing take on an antiquated mode of filmmaking.
The titular artist is George Valentin (the dashing Jean Dujardin, in a role that won Best Actor at Cannes this year), a Hollywood golden boy who was at the top of his game during the Roaring Twenties. With the advent of the talkies, he is desperately struggling to come to terms with his rapidly fading stardom. Adding insult to injury, his young love interest Peppy Miller (the gorgeous Bérénice Bejo displaying an on-screen elegance that would have made Bette Davis envious) is meeting newfound success as a rising starlet.
Hazanavicus' work here is equal parts homage and parody. The admiration he has for the silent film era strongly resonates throughout the picture, and he embraces many of the format's conventions. At the same time, however, the filmmaker is winking at the audience in regard to how ridiculous such clichés are. There's plenty of cheesy romance, dance numbers, a cute little dog that's always doing tricks and an obscene amount of camera mugging-what would a silent film be without that melodramatic hogging of the frame? It all adds up to a light-hearted, breezy film-going experience.
A crowd pleaser through and through (there was a loud applause and even some frenzied cheering at the end credits), one can see why "The Artist" is receiving heaps of acclaim from cinephiles worldwide. But is it the masterpiece that so many critics are proclaiming? Absolutely not. Though the film is bristling with energy, at over 100 minutes it feels just a tad too long and dragged out. That being said, the sheer uniqueness of "The Artist" means that it will surely be eaten up by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association when it's time to roll out the red carpet.
While there is no denying that Hazanavicius' remarkable creative prowess is on display throughout the film, "The Artist" is, essentially, an unusually polished piece of fluff. Its fluffiness is not necessarily a negative. "The Artist" is light holiday film fare that the whole family can indulge in, but grandma and grandpa will likely enjoy it the most for it's old-fashioned syle. If you're in the mood for a lively, tinsel town throwback, then be sure to put this one at the top of your list.
Grade: B
