You can email me at: ryantgee_rtg@yahoo.com
2011.
2010.
2009.
Other.
Post with 1 note
The Artist - Movie Review
Grade: B+
Director Michel Hazanavicius’s The Artist exhibits that the influence of the golden age and silent era of film still bides in the minds of contemporary film makers. This silent romance easily blends a film that is part Chaplin, and arguably, part Singing In The Rain. With what what seems like an endeavor - bringing a dated genre to a modern generation - the film effortlessly albeit predictably creates a crowd pleasing experience and ultimately a nostalgic homage to an understated era in film.
Set in the time lapse of 1927 to 1932, the film’s historical backdrop is the era of pop culture in which cinema was transitioning from the silent genre to the golden age film - otherwise known as “talkies,” where motion pictures were synchronized with sound. Hazanivicius’s character is George Valentin (played by Cannes winner Jean Dujardin), who we meet at the height of his career, the last year of silent cinema. From the opening moments in which we meet Valentin at his final black-tie premiere, it seems as if this character matches the stereotypical persona of arrogance in Hollywood; But even from his shameless showoff theatrics on stage, it is fully established that he is a star of his art. At this time, he meets Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), an aspiring actress whose Ingrid Berman-like natural charm is undoubtedly the antithesis of Valentin’s arrogant persona. When Valentin spontaneously gives her a break in Hollywood, “talkies” arrive, and the film focuses on the decline of Valentin’s career and the rise of Miller’s.
