Movie Review: 'The Artist' - Silence Is Golden

Another review done for the deadly Cluch.ie:

It’s the film that has charmed audiences and critics alike across the globe and all without uttering a single word. For many, it’s simply the best film of the year. The Artist proves that so much can be said by saying so little.

This tender, witty, charming film, which pays tribute to the classic silent movie era in Hollywood, is the best thing to hit our screens in a long long time. Sound like an exaggeration? Then you haven’t seen the film! Since premiering at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival last year, the hype surrounding the film has been huge and luckily, it does not fall foul of the hype. Having scored big at this year’s Golden Globe awards with three wins and numerous BAFTA nominations just announced, The Artist has captured us, and indeed Hollywood, like no film has done in years. It’s surely a shoo-in for Oscar glory.

The movie opens with us seeing Valentin at the premiere of his latest film ‘A Russian Affair.’ The Russian baddies are seen torturing his character in the opening scene, trying to make him talk. But he will not talk, thus setting the scene for his future and the future of the film. Valentin is at the top of his game when we meet him, the Gene Kelly of silent movies, but when The Talkies are introduced things slowly start to go downhill.

The story is a variation on the theme from A Star Is Born. An older, established star helps a talented young woman on the path to fame, only to see his career decline as she hits the big time. It is 1927, and George Valentin, played by Jean Dujardin, is a dashing and lovably preposterous silent movie star, endowed with hyper-real handsomeness and eyebrows and mustache, reminiscent of the era gone by. His trademark is always to appear on screen in the company of his little dog, Uggie, who is so adorable you couldn’t not mention him.

But its not to be. While Peppy becomes a huge star, Valentin, still refusing to talk, becomes yesterday’s news. All Peppy can do is look anxiously on and tries her best to help the star get back in the limelight once again. The humor and romance of the film are handled lightly but work wonderfully, and the audience will be drawn in by the beautiful silence of it all. No words are needed when it comes to our two stars; it is a joy to simply watch them on screen. French director Michel Hazanavicius has done his job perfectly; in the odd time that we do hear any sound, it seems invasive, like it just shouldn’t be there. This helps us empathise completely with the unfortunate situation George Valentin finds himself in, and it’s blissful when silence descends once again.

Early on, he meets and falls in love with Peppy Miller, played by the beautiful Bérénice Bejo. She wins a part in his next film and from then on embraces the new wave of Talkies. Audiences can’t get enough of her voice (which we never hear) but Valentin goes the opposite way. He remains stubborn, refusing to talk for fear that this will take away his artistry, and like Chaplin he decides to buck the trend and continue making silent films, writing, directing and financing his own work.

The film is awash with an array of references that culture fans will get giddy from, but you don’t need to pick up on these to enjoy the film. The film’s final scene, which I won’t spoil for those of you that have yet to see it, shows us everything that cinema is capable of which no other art form can touch. You’ll be left feeling light-hearted and smiling from ear to ear, the only disappointment being that it’s all over. This is a film drained of colour and sound, yet this lack is what makes the film so wonderful. If you see nothing else, you must see The Artist, a shining example of the fact that they can still make them like they used to, and no words are needed.

Go and see it people!!

The Hits and Misses From The Golden Globes

My review of this years recent Golden Globes ceremony also published on Culch.ie:

Award Season officially got off to a glitzy start as this year’s Golden Globes saw the crème de la crème of the Hollywood elite come out in hopes of picking up a coveted award. We had our usual hits and misses in terms of the fashion stakes… Reese Witherspoon, when I die, I’m coming back as you but what where you thinking? Kelly Osbourne and Sarah Michelle Gellar? An entire post could be devoted to the fashion stakes, but the awards themselves proved to be more interesting.

Slightly more relaxed than the Oscars (with a hell of a lot more ad breaks too, it has to be said), TV stars also get a chance to be acknowledged here which is nice to see. British comedian Ricky Gervais gleefully stepped back into the ring as this year’s host, but despite the anticipation from all sides, his very reverential monologues didn’t quite make the cut (we’re guessing the producers had more than a quiet word after the controversy he caused last year). True, the opening monologue was very entertaining – the shot of the terrified stars as they waited with baited breath for things to start was classic – but after that his time at the helm proved rather more dull. Definitely a much more staid affair than last year – save for some of the host’s zingers, musical moments (thank you Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy!) and Seth Rogen’s reference to his penis (a moment of brilliance) — the ceremony capped a long week of statuette-accepting and speech-giving ahead of next month’s Oscars.

The Winners

We mimed our delight as The Artist further solidified its spot at the front of the awards-season pack with three wins including Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical and Best Actor (though our fingers were crossed for The Fass). Surprisingly The Descendants, which won for Best Motion Picture — Drama and Best Actor – Drama, showed that it could play the spoiler come Oscar night. Non-surprisingly, the veteran and all-round formidable talent that is Meryl Streep won for her role in The Iron Lady (kudos to her, she took advice from Gervais and dedicated her award to God and her entire family) and was so delighted and shocked to win that we can forgive her slightly rambled acceptance speech.

At the grand old age of 82, Christopher Plummer won for his role in Beginners (though disappointingly didn’t make any sort of musical reference – boo!) and Woody Allen very deservedly picked up a statue for his gem of a movie Midnight in Paris. The talented Michelle Williams deservedly picked one up for her performance in My Week With Marilyn, but how on earth did it get into the Musical or Comedy category?

The TV side was a more mixed affair, with no show dominating and high-profile wins going to newcomer Homeland and Modern Family. Kate Winslet very deservingly took home a statuette for her role in the HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce. The cast of the hit seriesDownton Abbey were thrilled with their win too.

The Losers:

Though it is of course always an honour to be nominated, there were a few who missed out on an award. Our own Brendan Gleeson more than deserved to win for his comic genius in The Guard, and Jodie Foster should’ve won for her role in upcoming Polanski film Carnage. In terms of TV, I think the brilliant Boardwalk Empire should have walked way with at least one award but hey, there’s always next year. And in terms of hosting skills, Gervais lost out big time. Let’s hope host Billy Crystal can give Gervais a run for his money in the humor stakes at next month’s Oscars.

All in all it was a good, albeit very rushed, start to the awards season and gave us some good indicators into who might be in with a chance for Oscar glory this year. Before all that we have the slightly smaller affairs of the Screen Actors Guild Awards and The BAFTAs to give out their honours to the best films this year.

For those of you that missed the show, here is a video of Ricky Gervais’s amusing Golden Globes opening monologue: