So I’ve finally seen The Artist, after all the hype and the Oscar wins, and I wasn’t blown away. Sure, it is nice and well made, and obviously has a central gimmick that makes it stand out from the crowd, but this is a feather-weight confection.
The film opens in 1927, and George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silent movie star at the top of his game. He helps ingénue dancer Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) get noticed by the studios. As silence gives way to the talkies, their careers take different paths.
Two things surprised me. Firstly, although this is a French-made film it is set in Hollywood and the silent lines are all spoken in English. This seems slightly strange considering every country had a silent film industry that had to adjust to sound, but I suppose it does make financial sense to set it in America. And you get to have people like John Goodman in it without making them mouth French lines. Secondly, it wasn’t as funny as I thought it would be. The dog was cute, and it was mildly amusing at times, but I was expecting more slapstick or something. There weren’t many laughs.
Having said that, Dujardin is excellent in the role. Bearing a more than passing resemblance to William Powell (who interestingly was one of the few silent film actors to have a successful career after the introduction of sound) he looks very much of the time and has such a hammy, expressive face. Bejo is all eyes and smile, and is adorable.
Basically, it could be 20 minutes shorter and a bit funnier. If you buy into the romance of the silent era, I’m sure you will love this. I, on the other hand, was a little bored, and really if I’m going to be a bit bored watching a silent film, I’d rather take my medicine and watch an actual old one. Obviously I don’t want to sit through Battleship Potemkin, but I know I ought to.
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