As you know by now, Michel Hazanavicius’s new movie, The Artist, is a silent movie. That’s the novelty that attracted so much attention to the film. But it’s the performances of Jean Dujardin as silent film actor George Valentin and the new “talkie” star Peppy Miller, played to perfection by Bérénice Bejo, that are the true attractions of this movie. The chemistry they have on-screen is terrific! Dujardin has been nominated for the Best Actor Oscar and Bejo is up for Best Supporting Actress. And The Artist is one of the nine movies nominated for Best Movie. Of course, The Artist is going to be a hard-sell to mass audiences who don’t like B&W films and can’t imagine a movie without dialogue. But for those of you who love classic movie-making, enjoy! GRADE: A-
Judy and I enjoyed this one a lot. It played to a very small audience of fewer than a dozen people when we saw it.
There were about 20 people in our audience, Bill. Everyone who saw THE ARTIST liked it based on the overheard conversations in the Lobby.
Yes, the wife and I are on the lookout for this one. I’m hoping it will make a brief stop at our local theater now that it has the Oscar buzz as I really don’t relish trying to catch it miles away at one of our smaller theaters.
I’ve only seen Bérénice Bejo in A Knight’s Tale but in her brief role she is one of my favorite parts of that very fun film. Look forward to seeing her in a starring role.
I fell in love with Bérénice Bejo after seeing her Oscar-nominated performance in THE ARTIST, Carl. Great movie, great performances. But move fast, THE ARTIST isn’t going to stay in town long with the paucity of box office numbers.
We’re planning on seeing this one RSN or our annual “Oscar contenders” Florida movie catch-up tour. It seems to be one of the few we’ve missed that is playing down here, along with crap like ONE FOR THE MONEY.
Maybe all the nominationa and Oscar buzz will help it get an audience and run a little longer.
It will be an uphill struggle for THE ARTIST to garner big audiences, Jeff. Some people I know refuse to see a B&W movie. Some people I know refuse to watch movies with subtitles. And the lack of dialogue is a deal-breaker for plenty of folks.
Sandi and I really enjoyed this one. Uggie (the dog) should have been nominated too. He stole the show every time he was on screen.
You’re right about Uggie the Dog, Scott. He was quite a K-9!
OK, we saw it yesterday and here’s my analysis: I’m with Scott (and George) in that the dog stole every scene he was in.
Otherwise, I liked it a lot without loving it. I saw what Hazanavicius was trying to do and appreciated it, as well as the little touches like the old-fashioned credits at the start.
My biggest problem with the plot was this: he is clearly meant to be the studio’s big star, a Doug Fairbanks-type swashbuckling romantic star. Yet when sound comes in studio head John Goodman doesn’t even try to test his voice, just dumps him for “younger” stars. Was it because of his accent? They never said.
Also, THE JAZZ SINGER opened in 1927. Over the next two years Hollywood released a number of movies with some sound scenes. Yet in 1929 the implication was that sound had just been “invented” and they were all taken by surprise.
I’m with George on Bejo (who I didn’t realize was married to the director) but I hated the name Peppy Miller.
I also agree with George that I don’t see this being a hit with today’s audience, though the Oscar voters are a different story. Would I vote for it was Best Picture? I’d have to see all the other pictures to know for sure.
You and I agree most of THE ARTIST’s strengths and faults, Jeff. I’ve seen most of the BEST MOVIE nominees. If I were voting, I’d go with MIDNIGHT IN PARIS. I suspect THE HELP might win.
I really liked the Woody Allen too. THE HELP is probably one of those we’ll rent before the Oscars show.
I enjoyed THE HELP, but it’s basically a direct film version of the book, Jeff.