So, somebody thought it would be a good idea to make a silent movie in a time when the majority of the audience is looking for next, bigger explosion? Surely, making such a film would be a waste of time because it couldn't possibly be entertaining, interesting, or even good at all right? Do moviegoers even know that there was a time when ALL films were silent? Will people walk out of the theater demanding their money back because either they didn't know it was a silent movie or because they thought something was wrong with the sound? How can The Artist go from an innovative, bold concept of a film to being on the brink of being the best picture of the year?
The Artist takes place in the age of Hollywoodland when everything was black and white, major productions where rare, and the only sound was an accompanying musical score, meaning the dialogue was a text that was inserted in the film. Yes, you had to read at the movies. It's about a silent film actor, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), who is the leading man of movies. He lives the life of luxury as Hollywood's biggest star; he lives in a mansion, poses for the photographers, and even has a very smart and loyal dog. After a chance encounter with aspiring actress Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) and the studio he works for decides to stop production on all silent films to embrace "talkies" his life begins to spiral out of control. He puts all of his own money into producing and directing his own film, which falls flat, and loses everything. Meanwhile, Peppy's career is taking off like a rocket. She's in almost every magazine and her films sell out night after night. Valentin continues to free fall into alcoholism, depression, and madness. When he nearly destroys what little he has left, Peppy reenters his life and tries to show him that he does still have value in the world of talking film.
Yes, kids, there was time when all films were silent and it was a wonderful time. There was also a time when if you wanted to blow up a car in film, you had to actually blow up a car. People have walked out on The Artist because they didn't realize it was a silent film and didn't give it a chance which is a huge mistake on their part. The Artist (and the great silent films like it) didn't need voice dialogue to tell a good story. They rely heavily on the actors to convey emotions, through expression and movement. When there was something important that needed to be "said" the text was shown on the screen for the audience to read but what made the experience complete was using a little imagination to make up the voices for each character in your head. I found myself more involved and invested in the film that I probably would have were it a "talkie" about a silent film actor (and frankly it wouldn't have been as good). What makes it a favorite for the Academy Award for Best Picture? It was innovative and bold to make a movie in this style but it also tells an interesting story without having to worry about getting the words right. The audience gets to fill in the blanks and that's what makes The Artist so unique and so special.
I give it 11 stars out of 11.
Also this week, Liam Neeson plays a member of an oil drilling tem struggling to survive in an Alaskan winter after a plane crash strands them in the wild and find themselves being hunted by a pack of wolves that see them as intruders inThe Grey. In One for the Money Katherine Heigl plays unemployed and newly-divorced Stephanie who lands a job at her cousin's bail bond business, where her first assignment puts her on the trail of a wanted local cop from her romantic past. Sam Worthington is a Man on a Ledge, an ex-con who is threatening to jump from a New York rooftop unless he's proven innocent of his crimes but as the police try and talk him down, the biggest diamond heist ever committed is in motion.
Next week, Danielle Radcliffe breaks away from the Harry Potter franchise in a horror film about a young lawyer who travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost ofThe Lady in Black is terrorizing the locals. Chronicle is a "found footage" film about three high school friends that gain superpowers after making an incredible story. Soon, their lives are spiraling out of control as they embrace their darker sides. The Innkeepers is another horror flick that takes place in the last days of the Yankee Pedlar Inn as two employees who are determined to reveal the hotel's haunted past begin to experience disturbing events as old guests check make their presence known. Madonna makes her sophomore effort as the director of W.E. in the two-tiered romantic tale that focuses on the affair between King Edward VIII and American divorcee Wallis Simpson and a modern day romance between a married woman and a Russian security guard. The Big Miracle is about a reported and a Greenpeace volunteer on a campaign to save a family of gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle.