Jenni uses her Film Degree to do a Review: The Artist
With the Oscars coming up this weekend, and a next-to-none chance of Midnight In Paris taking home Best Picture, I would be foolish not to see The Artist before the ceremony as it is the frontrunner to sweep the awards.
You see, the last time I didn't see the Best Picture frontrunner before the Oscars was Slumdog Millionaire... and I can't express to you how much I detested that movie.
So, I went to the see The Artist yesterday. And I don't hate it - this is good, this is the first hurdle cleared.
It is essentially a love letter to the golden age of cinema, when silent film was dying and studio talkies came into prominence. It follows the downfall of screen star George Valentin as he struggles to transition to films with sound, and his love interest, Peppy Miller, as she rises to prominence as a talking star. For some reason she has this undying love for him and secretly helps and supports him along the way - even though his pride gets in the way of making a return to cinema.
So, as you can see, director Michel Hazanavicius (hardest name to type ever, but fun to say), who in the past has been responsible for the French 1960s spy homage series, OSS 117, set his sights on recreating a 1930s era film. In a fantastically ambitious turn of events he decided to fully commit to cinema of the time - if you weren't aware already, The Artist is a silent film. It is shot in the 1:33 aspect ratio, (i.e. the old Academy boxy screen size) and there are no zooms - because the technology did not exist in the 1930s.
You have to respect the man for sticking to his principles and taking a risk. And the Academy in Hollywood are loving it.
A lot of it has to do with good timing. A friend of mine suggested that since the film industry has had a few tough years that they are rewarding films that go "How great is cinema, guys?! Right??" - and I completely agree with her. The Artist is open adoration for the silent era; Hugo forces in some Georges Melies love out of nowhere; and Michelle Williams could win Best Actress for her turn as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn. They are just so damn obvious with their choices sometimes, yeesh.
Of course, doing a nearly entirely silent movie in an era where sound design is as dense as a Transformer, does allow for an opportunity to have a little fun with it; the actors are wonderful, they own the screen and are incredibly enchanting; there's some great old school dances in there; and an awesome dream sequence where you can hear sound effects for the first time... that sequence was so effective. Oh man!
But unfortunately it has a really flimsy plot with very shaky character development. It gets its point across and there are no gaping holes - but they just don't delve very far. Actually, I was downright annoyed at the climax because of how groaningly typical they made it. It all ends up being a bit empty and soulless.
Since it has no meat on its bones, you don't really care about it three hours later - so, imagine how little you'll care three years down the track. And to be honest, watching a silent movie is weird. Talking feels wrong after two hours of that - like you've been on a Buddhist retreat and have forgotten how to communicate. We've moved on from that. I'm not trying to negate the importance of silent film, but is it a viable genre for the future? Definitely not.
The Artist is worth seeing as an experiment in modern film. But don't expect to have your socks removed by force, okay?
The Artist was written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius and stars Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo and Uggie, the Jack Russell.
You see, the last time I didn't see the Best Picture frontrunner before the Oscars was Slumdog Millionaire... and I can't express to you how much I detested that movie.
So, I went to the see The Artist yesterday. And I don't hate it - this is good, this is the first hurdle cleared.
It is essentially a love letter to the golden age of cinema, when silent film was dying and studio talkies came into prominence. It follows the downfall of screen star George Valentin as he struggles to transition to films with sound, and his love interest, Peppy Miller, as she rises to prominence as a talking star. For some reason she has this undying love for him and secretly helps and supports him along the way - even though his pride gets in the way of making a return to cinema.
So, as you can see, director Michel Hazanavicius (hardest name to type ever, but fun to say), who in the past has been responsible for the French 1960s spy homage series, OSS 117, set his sights on recreating a 1930s era film. In a fantastically ambitious turn of events he decided to fully commit to cinema of the time - if you weren't aware already, The Artist is a silent film. It is shot in the 1:33 aspect ratio, (i.e. the old Academy boxy screen size) and there are no zooms - because the technology did not exist in the 1930s.
You have to respect the man for sticking to his principles and taking a risk. And the Academy in Hollywood are loving it.
A lot of it has to do with good timing. A friend of mine suggested that since the film industry has had a few tough years that they are rewarding films that go "How great is cinema, guys?! Right??" - and I completely agree with her. The Artist is open adoration for the silent era; Hugo forces in some Georges Melies love out of nowhere; and Michelle Williams could win Best Actress for her turn as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn. They are just so damn obvious with their choices sometimes, yeesh.
Of course, doing a nearly entirely silent movie in an era where sound design is as dense as a Transformer, does allow for an opportunity to have a little fun with it; the actors are wonderful, they own the screen and are incredibly enchanting; there's some great old school dances in there; and an awesome dream sequence where you can hear sound effects for the first time... that sequence was so effective. Oh man!
But unfortunately it has a really flimsy plot with very shaky character development. It gets its point across and there are no gaping holes - but they just don't delve very far. Actually, I was downright annoyed at the climax because of how groaningly typical they made it. It all ends up being a bit empty and soulless.
Since it has no meat on its bones, you don't really care about it three hours later - so, imagine how little you'll care three years down the track. And to be honest, watching a silent movie is weird. Talking feels wrong after two hours of that - like you've been on a Buddhist retreat and have forgotten how to communicate. We've moved on from that. I'm not trying to negate the importance of silent film, but is it a viable genre for the future? Definitely not.
The Artist is worth seeing as an experiment in modern film. But don't expect to have your socks removed by force, okay?
The Artist was written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius and stars Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo and Uggie, the Jack Russell.