Review of The Artist (2011) by Jiana W — 02 Aug 2013

I got the feeling that this movie was a sort of knock-off of "Singin' In The Rain". The movies are somewhat similar in premise (a popular silent film actor is taken aback by the rise of "talkies" and must learn to cope or lose relevance with the changing times). Although he looks like him, especially when he flashes that smile, Jean Dujardin is no Gene Kelly. And Berenice Bejo is no Debbie Reynolds for that matter.

The Artist can often be boring, although the little dog is quite entertaining throughout and helps when the movie is lagging on interesting material. I think it's funny how the two main characters never kiss but I found their relationship charming sometimes. Much of the movie is sad as we watch this guy completely suffer for a majority of the film. By the time Valentin finally finished feeling sorry for himself and letting his immense ego get in the way, I was too annoyed with his character and tired of watching him, to be honest.

I'll give it one thing: it was certainly unique, especially compared to what we've been seeing in recent years. While it's nice to see an homage to a bygone era in film, the hype this movie got and the awards it received were overblown in my opinion.