Review of The Artist (2011) by Dan S — 25 Feb 2013

A unique silent film concerning the business of silent films, and how one megawatt talent (Jean Dujardin) experiences the changing of times as his once prominent career is thrust into oblivion as a talent he helped along the way (Berenice Bejo) starts to see her career explode, and how the two remain connected.

This movie is part satire on the industry, but it is largely a dark, unsettling look at a former titan whose ego and life take a pounding. The fact that director Michel Hazanavicius makes this movie so moving, being we actually care about these characters and how they will end up, is an enormous feat to pull off being that no words are spoken largely throughout this picture.

Through a simple score, gorgeous cinematography, and Oscar-caliber turns from both Dujardin and Bejo, "The Artist" is a good motion picture. Some critics say it is "just another silent movie" and it is largely unnecessary, but I disagree.

Maybe not deserving of the "Best Picture" award it got, but this film possesses a sort of darkness and somberness many silent films would never entertain, as largely the business was all fun and games, mostly concentrated on the slapstick antics of both Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

This film goes to dark places, which is surprising, but it pays off in the end.