"The Artist"
2011
PG-13
Produced by: Thomas Langmann
Directed by: Michel Hazanavicius
Written by: Michel Hazanavicius
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman
Studio 37


5/5 Stars
Consensus:One of the few films I would consider perfect. Flawless performance and directing make this masterpiece an instant classic. The characters as accessible and lovable, the plot clear and consistent, the style unique and brave. Completely deserving of all the praise it has been given and all the awards it has received.

Plot: Silent film star "George Valentin"(Jean Dujardin) is on a career high when "talkies" and a stock-market crash ruin him. Rising star "Peppy Miller"(Berenice Bejo), whom Valentin helped her early career, helps him back onto his feet whilst building romance with the fallen icon.

Directing:I believe silent film directors are among the most talented. Getting someone to deliver a line properly is one thing, having an actor pantomime an entire thought or ideal, successfully... now that takes some talent. Since the film is silent it takes a good deal of talent to express a plot or action compared to a film with audio in which one can simply say "I'm really upset with you" or "I love you", heck, the audio can be off-screen if you feel like it! That's the brilliance of Michel Hazanavicius' (I don't ever even want to try to pronounce that last name in real life) directing. He has managed to orchestrate a beautiful film without many of the elements one would usually depend on. *****

Acting: Pantomime is extremely difficult to pull off without being irritating. The physicality and over-the-top nature of the art is difficult to master and not everyone is good at it. The cast of The Artist however is not everyone and does an outstanding job at pulling this complex art off without a hitch. Jean Dujardin's 2011 Academy Award for best actor is well placed and deserved. The other actors perform splendidly as well. *****

Editing:This was my single favorite part of this film. The editing is outrageously good. Brilliant. Awe striking. One particularly brilliant moment towards the beginning of the film we see a theater full of people watching a "Valentin" film. Cuts between Valentin himself and the audience and the film are incredibly orchestrated with the off screen music and the plot in and of itself. At one point we see a close-up of Valentin and are shown him looking at the back of the movie screen, we then cut to a wide-shot of the audience who is laughing hysterically and applauding, letting us know something brilliant has just happened in the film that Valentin is proud of. The fact that we're never shown what it is is perfect because it helps show that Valentin could be anybody in silent film era Hollywood and the core of such grandeur could be anything. The editing was the best part of this film, and this was a very good film. *****

Art Direction: This film ought to be (and likely is or will be) compared to Singing In The Rain(1952) as it is about the same era in Hollywood, and the same revolutionary crisis many had at the time, namely "talkies" or film with sound. The art direction in this film captured the late 20s early 30s Hollywood to precision. Having seen many old films from that era, this film felt and looked exactly like it had been made 60-70 years ago. The style of clothing, cars, set design, set design of the set designs, everything looked like early 30s Hollywood. Literally, watch a Gene Kelly or James Stewart film next to this one. If you didn't know anything about film and you saw both you wouldn't be able to tell which was filmed now or then. Outstanding. *****

Cinematography: The film has some brilliant framing moments. One scene in particular where Valentin is filming for a "3 Musketeers" type film the camera moves just so, so we see both what the final film will look like, as well as the studio it is being filmed in since that is part of our world and plot as well. The film is filled with many wonderful example like this of great cinematography. *****

Screenplay:The three words said in the film are used perfectly. Again, it is far more difficult to write and direct pantomime than spoken word as you must have every element of the film imagined already. You could tell the screenplay was fluid and well imagined. *****

CGI/Special Effects:The only special effects that come to mind are a fire Valentin is involved with and some lightening or electricity at the beginning of the film. Since the purpose of the film is to be reminiscent of late 20's/early 30's Hollywood, the special effects included looked and felt perfectly like the effects of the late 20's early 30's. Therefore they are perfect for what they are used for. *****