Review of The Artist (2011) by Murray S — 09 Mar 2013

Everything you would expect from a silent film; but with superb acting, great cinematography, and creative story-lining to boot.

Dujardin plays as a 1927 wildly popular silent film star who?s world is shaken when ?talkies? begin to phase out silent films. Bejo plays the stunning new girl who Dujardin meets as an extra during a shoot for one of his films. As she becomes increasingly popular in the talkies, Dujardin seems at war with himself over whether he is enchanted by her, or resentful of her being a part of what is destroying his career. As the story progresses, you start to see that the silence of the film is a parallel for Dujardin?s inability to let go of the silent film era and embrace the era of the talkies. The incorporation of this storytelling feature makes this movie landmark. Not very often will movies manage to create a metaphor for their film in a manner as creative as this, and be able to pull it off masterfully. The use of lighting in this film is very nostalgic of classic silent films as well as black and white films in general, and adds a lot of feel to the movie. The actors all play outstandingly, and Bejo and Dujardin have excellent finesse and on screen chemistry. While I may be prone to think 2011 was not a great year for movies, this one definitely rises to the top as one of the best of the year.