The joie de vivre and charm of the Oscar-winning feature is oddly dated as a silent film star struggles with the advent of talkies.
George Valentin (Jean Dujardin – OSS 117, The Monuments Men) is a swashbuckling hero of silent movies. But his loveless marriage flounders as his career takes a nosedive to the talkies. It’s only Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo – The Past, Godard mon amour), a former fan and now a rising star at the studios, who believes in Valentin as his former friends and colleagues abandon him.
A paean to the golden age of Hollywood, a silent black and white movie itself from writer/director Michel Hazanavicius (OSS117, Godard mon amour), The Artist is old-school escapist romance without the aid of spoken dialogue or sound. Refreshing on first viewing, it’s unexpectedly flat and uninvolving on the second.
Nominated for 10 Oscars in 2012 including best supporting actress, original script, art direction, cinematography (Guillaume Schiffman), won 5 – best film, director, actor, costume (Mark Bridges), score (Ludovic Bource).
Rating: 57%
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