Photo: A movie premiere in “The Artist.”
Who says that a black and white silent film can’t still be a hit 82 years after the start of the sound era? The French feature film THE ARTIST, released in a limited number of theatres this past weekend in Los Angeles and New York, is a loving homage to the American silent film. Full of emotion and spirit, the movie demonstrates what is often lacking in today’s Hollywood films: heart.
Photo: A scene in the Bradbury Building with Jean Dujardin in “The Artist.”
Lead actor Jean Dujardin gives an infectious, inspired performance as George Valentin, a silent film actor in the late 1920s. Full of charm and spirit, while also a bit of a ham, Valentin performs in action films with his constant companion, a winning little terrier who almost steals the show. At a premiere, Valentin literally bumps into an aspiring young actress named Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), and the story begins. The two leads possess great chemistry, and play their roles with elan. Dujardin channels Douglas Fairbanks while also mimicking Mary Pickford’s great strength, acting with your eyes.
French director Michel Hazanavacitius has created a film that is both beautiful and incredibly well-acted, and which also highlights elegant locations all around Los Angeles. The Bradbury Building stairs and Art Deco Cicada Club downtown appear as locations, along with the Orpheum Theatre and the lobby of the Los Angeles Theatre. The Red Studio on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood stands-in for the movie studio, and a building at the American Film Institute becomes a hospital. Beachwood Drive plays itself in the film, with a digitally recreated Hollywoodland Sign above it.
The film features sleek cars of the period, along with lovely period costumes and props, and also contains an artful blend of period music, film score cues from classic films, and a creative original score.
THE ARTIST aptly demonstrates the draw of silent films: pure emotion. The events sweep the audience along in caring what happens to the characters, rather than being purely visceral, as so many current films are. This film demonstrates that simple joy and emotion pay bigger dividends than seeing explosions, killings, and violence.
I enjoyed the hell out of it–and of course am hoping it wins lots of Oscars and the popularity holds out long enough to help sales of my upcoming John Gilbert bio . . .
What’s the name of your book and when is it coming out?
“John Gilbert–The Man and the Myths,” Univ. Press of Kentucky, not till May 2013 (it’s due to the publisher’s this May). I have found an amazing wealth of info, notes from interviews that had never been published. I adore Jack Gilbert, though the more I research, the more sympathy I feel for Louis B. Mayer. Jack was NOT an easy employee.
I am trying to winnow down the photos: he and his lovers and costars were all so gorgeous, getting down to “only” 60 will be a chore.
The same team made the charming French spy spoof OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies. Berenice Bejo is the cutest thing since Natalie Wood.
By the way, I teared up twice during The Artist–I won’t go into details, so as not to spoil any scenes. I see it won the NY Film Critics Award today!
I teared up a few times too, some just from happiness of seeing a “new” silent on screen. It also won 5 nominations in the Independent Spirit Awards!
Thanks for the review….makes me want to see it even more than I already did. Don’t you love how they gave the little dog a special award at Cannes? It’s called the “Palm Dog”! Small quibble: The director’s name is actually Michel Hazanavicius—a mouthful, any way you spell it.
I kept checking but missed the spelling. Uggie is great, he definitely deserves an award. There is a Consider Uggie facebook page.
I look forward to “The Artist” — but I wish someone with the production had done a bit more research on fonts and their history. The fonts on and above the marquee look too modern, and simply don’t have any “feel” for 1927.