THE ARTIST
*****
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Screenwriter: Michell Hazanavicius
Principal cast:
Jean Dujardin
Bérénice Bejo
John Goodman
James Cromwell
Penelope Ann Miller
Uggie
Country: France/Belgium/USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 100 mins.
Australian release date: 2 February 2012
The Artist, set in Hollywood in 1927, is a beautiful, glittering gem of a film that looks at change in a bygone period, specifically at the time when the technology to record ambient sound on film didn’t exist, so movies were silent. Change is jarring and yet inevitable and the French director, Michel Hazanavicius, takes us through the process in such a way that his vision resonates long after you have left the cinema.
With Oscar nominated performances for Best Actor and Best Support by Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, starring as Hollywood actors George Valentin and Peppy Miller, we follow the shifting state of the pair’s careers and on-again, off-again relationship. Valentin is a hugely successful silent screen idol, looking the part with his dashing good looks and pencil thin moustache, but when he encounters the young dancer Miller in a crowd of fans, the artist’s fate is sealed… a magical moment indeed. As Valentin’s silent movie career heads for the skids (silent stars are being replaced by younger actors who are ready to be heard on screen in ‘talking’ pictures), Peppy’s career heads for the heights. It’s a story we’re all familiar with from films like Sunset Boulevard and A Star Is Born, although this one has a twist.
Mention should also go to others in the cast: John Goodman as producer Al Zimmer, the driving force behind the studio responsible for Valentin’s string of hits, a man who understands what an audience is after. He knows the business and it shows, literally - his face lights up when he sees the billboards of his productions that adorn the Hollywood cinemas; James Cromwell is superb as Valentin’s faithful chauffeur, Clifton; and, in no danger of being upstaged by these veterans, Valentin’s cuter than cute Jack Russell terrier, Uggie, demonstrates a few acting tricks of his own. My guess is that Uggie is destined for greater things than the TV ads which preceded this, his film debut.
The original music by Ludovic Bource is simply stunning and credit must also go to Guillaume Schiffman’s magnificent black and white cinematography and Gregory Hooper’s art direction. In an era where we are used to everything extreme on screen, this film is totally rewarding on all levels because of its apparent simplicity. It is full of humour, tragedy and melodrama, but at no time does it lose its way. For anyone who has never seen a silent movie, this is a wonderful introduction to them. The Artist won a host of Oscars including Best Picture, and deservedly so: as beautifully as the duet performed in the film by Valentin and Miller.
Screenwriter: Michell Hazanavicius
Principal cast:
Jean Dujardin
Bérénice Bejo
John Goodman
James Cromwell
Penelope Ann Miller
Uggie
Country: France/Belgium/USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 100 mins.
Australian release date: 2 February 2012
The Artist, set in Hollywood in 1927, is a beautiful, glittering gem of a film that looks at change in a bygone period, specifically at the time when the technology to record ambient sound on film didn’t exist, so movies were silent. Change is jarring and yet inevitable and the French director, Michel Hazanavicius, takes us through the process in such a way that his vision resonates long after you have left the cinema.
With Oscar nominated performances for Best Actor and Best Support by Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, starring as Hollywood actors George Valentin and Peppy Miller, we follow the shifting state of the pair’s careers and on-again, off-again relationship. Valentin is a hugely successful silent screen idol, looking the part with his dashing good looks and pencil thin moustache, but when he encounters the young dancer Miller in a crowd of fans, the artist’s fate is sealed… a magical moment indeed. As Valentin’s silent movie career heads for the skids (silent stars are being replaced by younger actors who are ready to be heard on screen in ‘talking’ pictures), Peppy’s career heads for the heights. It’s a story we’re all familiar with from films like Sunset Boulevard and A Star Is Born, although this one has a twist.
Mention should also go to others in the cast: John Goodman as producer Al Zimmer, the driving force behind the studio responsible for Valentin’s string of hits, a man who understands what an audience is after. He knows the business and it shows, literally - his face lights up when he sees the billboards of his productions that adorn the Hollywood cinemas; James Cromwell is superb as Valentin’s faithful chauffeur, Clifton; and, in no danger of being upstaged by these veterans, Valentin’s cuter than cute Jack Russell terrier, Uggie, demonstrates a few acting tricks of his own. My guess is that Uggie is destined for greater things than the TV ads which preceded this, his film debut.
The original music by Ludovic Bource is simply stunning and credit must also go to Guillaume Schiffman’s magnificent black and white cinematography and Gregory Hooper’s art direction. In an era where we are used to everything extreme on screen, this film is totally rewarding on all levels because of its apparent simplicity. It is full of humour, tragedy and melodrama, but at no time does it lose its way. For anyone who has never seen a silent movie, this is a wonderful introduction to them. The Artist won a host of Oscars including Best Picture, and deservedly so: as beautifully as the duet performed in the film by Valentin and Miller.
