LinhThe Artist (preview); silent black and white drama comedy film review
January 29th 2012 06:23
Scintillating Silence by Linh
French director, screenwriter and producer Michel Hazanavicius’ film The Artist is a visual and technical homage to the silent film era with references to silent film acting, Hollywood celebrity fanaticism, and other technical aspects of silent film-making before talkies arrived.
The Artist has already won a swag of film awards and has recently been nominated for ten Academy Awards, following three wins at the recent Golden Globe Awards.
The Artist is a black and white silent film that covers the years 1927 to 1932, and focusses on a popular and famous Hollywood silent film star whose career ends when audio technology for talkies (talking movies) arrive, which reflects the real life problems actors faced in having their voices heard by the cinema audiences at the time.
In 1927, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is the biggest Hollywood star whose films are similar to those of silent film star Douglas Fairbanks and whose charm and charisma in public has earned him many fans. George has a dog named Jack, who appears in some of his films and is his close companion at work and at home. During one of George’s publicity appearances for his latest silent film A Russian Affair, an aspiring actress named Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) accidentally comes into shot for one of his photo opportunities. George graciously allows her to share the spotlight with him and this infuriates the movie studio boss Al Zimmer (John Goodman) when the press concentrates on George’s ‘mystery woman’ instead of the film. When Peppy auditions for one of George’s upcoming films as an extra, he insists she be cast in his film A German Affair, after witnessing her talent and potential. After the success of this film, Al meets with George and urges him to stop performing in silent films and join him in utilising the latest advancement in film, which enables actors to be audible to audiences, called talkies. George refuses to star in talkies, claiming that he is an artist who does not need technology to act, and he quits. As he leaves the studio, George meets Peppy ascending the stairs, who excitedly tells him she has signed on with the studio to star in their upcoming films. From this point, it becomes apparent that Peppy is a star on the rise while George’s career is coming to an end. This staircase scene is pivotal and foreshadows what is to come in the film; the decline of Geroge’s career as he is seen descending the stairs, while Peppy’s climb up the stairs indicates her rise to stardom.
The Artist is aesthetically authentic in its attempt to capture the beauty of silent films technically and visually. Director Hazanavicius has diligently researched the various techniques used in silent films to give a truthful and accurate portrayal of film-making and screen-acting of the silent film era during the late 1920s and early 1930s in Hollywood. The music used to accompany the film’s action is well chosen, despite actor Kim Novak’s *claims that The Artist has misappropriated the music score from Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo, in which she starred. Hazanavicius dismissed Novak’s allegations and claimed he was “inspired by Hitchcock's work.” (BBC news)
The leading actors are French with a superb supporting cast that includes American and British actors. Jean Dujardin is brilliant as the silent film actor George Valentin whose star power fades when silent films wane as talkies become popular. George is seen as proud and resistant to change so his refusal to embrace the inevitable in the rise of talkies has resulted in his downfall. George’s real reason behind his fear does not concern the technology itself, but the quality of his voice and how its foreign-ness may sound to American audiences. Dujardin has already won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and an International AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema Television Arts) award for Best Actor. He is nominated for Best Leading Actor for The Artist in next month’s Academy Awards ceremony.
Hazanavicius’ wife Bérénice Bejo took five months of tap dancing classes, and to acquire the “American actress persona” she watched film clips of Joan Crawford to emulate her **flapper style and Marlene Dietrich (despite being German-born) for her winking and air-kisses. Bejo gives an excellent portrayal of the gorgeous fresh-faced and starry-eyed ingénue Peppy Miller. The beautiful Argentine-French actor epitomised the excitement and adventurous nature of her character Peppy, the type of personality that reflects the way talkies were affecting the film industry at the time. It is in contrast to George’s attitude and fear of talkies as he clings to his old style of filmmaking when he writes, produces, directs and stars in his self-funded silent film called Tears of Love which flopped against Peppy’s talkie film The Beauty Spot. Peppy represented the latest stage in filmmaking’s evolution while George’s resistance to talkies sees him stuck in the past and left behind.
Bejo has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and also in the same category for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has received a Best Leading Actress nomination for a BAFTA award.
Notable performances come courtesy of John Goodman who is fantastic as the studio boss Al Zimmer, whose eagerness to embrace talkies is not only about making profits but to help evolve and grow the film industry; James Cromwell is charming and affable as George’s faithful personal assistant named Clifton who still cares about George even after he fires him; Uggie the Jack Russell Terrier as Jack is a crowd-pleaser and scene-stealer and Penelope Ann Miller is engaging as George’s long-suffering wife Doris, who suspects he is having affairs, feels neglected and lonely, especially as George always brings his work home and never stops “acting”.
The Artist is a sublime cinematic experience with fantastic performances from the ensemble cast, providing humour, wit and drama performed without spoken words. There are many memorable moments that audiences will love including Jack the dog’s heroic rescue, rehearsal/audition/dance sequences, Peppy’s private moment with George’s jacket in his dressing room, or the staircase scene that is an allegory of the ups and downs of show business and how it affects those who work in the film industry. It’s a film about intertwined destinies when one kind gesture from a superstar at the height of his career can lead to unexpected generosity in return when he loses everything.
The Artist screens in limited release from Thursday 2 February 2012.
The Artist, Behind The Scenes Film Trailer (courtesy of The Weinstein Company):
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Writer: Michel Hazanavicius (screenplay)
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Malcolm McDowell, Missi Pyle, Beth Grant, Joel Murray, Ken Davitian, Ed Lauter, Bitsie Tulloch, Basil Hoffman, Nina Siemaszko, Bill Fagerbakke, Cletus Young, Uggie the dog.
Producers: Danile Delume, Antoine de Cazotte, Richard Middleton, Emmanuel Montamat, Thomas Langmann
Director of Photography: Guillaume Schiffman
Original Music Composer: Ludovic Bource
Film Editors: Michel Hazanavicius, Anne-Sophie Bion
Production Designer: Laurence Bennett
Costume Designer: Mark Bridges
Running Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes
References:
*BBC news online staff writer. ‘Artist director responds to Kim Novak Vertigo claim’. 10 January 2012. BBC news website:
Really Long Link
**From the Oxford Dictionary: flapper noun, informal - (in the 1920s) a fashionable young woman intent on enjoying herself and flouting conventional standards of behaviour.
Promotional poster for the film The Artist. Image: The Weinstein Company.
French director, screenwriter and producer Michel Hazanavicius’ film The Artist is a visual and technical homage to the silent film era with references to silent film acting, Hollywood celebrity fanaticism, and other technical aspects of silent film-making before talkies arrived.
The Artist has already won a swag of film awards and has recently been nominated for ten Academy Awards, following three wins at the recent Golden Globe Awards.
The Artist is a black and white silent film that covers the years 1927 to 1932, and focusses on a popular and famous Hollywood silent film star whose career ends when audio technology for talkies (talking movies) arrive, which reflects the real life problems actors faced in having their voices heard by the cinema audiences at the time.
SILENT SUSPICIONS: Doris (Penelope Ann Miller) is unimpressed with her husband George kissing other women, in the film The Artist. Image: The Weinstein Company.
In 1927, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is the biggest Hollywood star whose films are similar to those of silent film star Douglas Fairbanks and whose charm and charisma in public has earned him many fans. George has a dog named Jack, who appears in some of his films and is his close companion at work and at home. During one of George’s publicity appearances for his latest silent film A Russian Affair, an aspiring actress named Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) accidentally comes into shot for one of his photo opportunities. George graciously allows her to share the spotlight with him and this infuriates the movie studio boss Al Zimmer (John Goodman) when the press concentrates on George’s ‘mystery woman’ instead of the film. When Peppy auditions for one of George’s upcoming films as an extra, he insists she be cast in his film A German Affair, after witnessing her talent and potential. After the success of this film, Al meets with George and urges him to stop performing in silent films and join him in utilising the latest advancement in film, which enables actors to be audible to audiences, called talkies. George refuses to star in talkies, claiming that he is an artist who does not need technology to act, and he quits. As he leaves the studio, George meets Peppy ascending the stairs, who excitedly tells him she has signed on with the studio to star in their upcoming films. From this point, it becomes apparent that Peppy is a star on the rise while George’s career is coming to an end. This staircase scene is pivotal and foreshadows what is to come in the film; the decline of Geroge’s career as he is seen descending the stairs, while Peppy’s climb up the stairs indicates her rise to stardom.
ASPIRING ACTOR: Peppy (Bérénice Bejo) attempts to impress a stranger (Malcolm McDowell) at her audition in the film The Artist. Image: The Weinstein Company.
The Artist is aesthetically authentic in its attempt to capture the beauty of silent films technically and visually. Director Hazanavicius has diligently researched the various techniques used in silent films to give a truthful and accurate portrayal of film-making and screen-acting of the silent film era during the late 1920s and early 1930s in Hollywood. The music used to accompany the film’s action is well chosen, despite actor Kim Novak’s *claims that The Artist has misappropriated the music score from Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo, in which she starred. Hazanavicius dismissed Novak’s allegations and claimed he was “inspired by Hitchcock's work.” (BBC news)
SUPERSTAR STATUS: Peppy (Bérénice Bejo) has achieved her dream of Hollywood stardom but feels it has come at the expense of George Valentin's career in the film The Artist. Image: The Weinstein Company.
The leading actors are French with a superb supporting cast that includes American and British actors. Jean Dujardin is brilliant as the silent film actor George Valentin whose star power fades when silent films wane as talkies become popular. George is seen as proud and resistant to change so his refusal to embrace the inevitable in the rise of talkies has resulted in his downfall. George’s real reason behind his fear does not concern the technology itself, but the quality of his voice and how its foreign-ness may sound to American audiences. Dujardin has already won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and an International AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema Television Arts) award for Best Actor. He is nominated for Best Leading Actor for The Artist in next month’s Academy Awards ceremony.
MOVIE MAKER: Al Zimmer (John Goodman) not only makes movies but ensures that the movie industry keeps evolving and improving in the film The Artist. Image: The Weinstein Company.
Hazanavicius’ wife Bérénice Bejo took five months of tap dancing classes, and to acquire the “American actress persona” she watched film clips of Joan Crawford to emulate her **flapper style and Marlene Dietrich (despite being German-born) for her winking and air-kisses. Bejo gives an excellent portrayal of the gorgeous fresh-faced and starry-eyed ingénue Peppy Miller. The beautiful Argentine-French actor epitomised the excitement and adventurous nature of her character Peppy, the type of personality that reflects the way talkies were affecting the film industry at the time. It is in contrast to George’s attitude and fear of talkies as he clings to his old style of filmmaking when he writes, produces, directs and stars in his self-funded silent film called Tears of Love which flopped against Peppy’s talkie film The Beauty Spot. Peppy represented the latest stage in filmmaking’s evolution while George’s resistance to talkies sees him stuck in the past and left behind.
Bejo has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and also in the same category for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has received a Best Leading Actress nomination for a BAFTA award.
TALENTED TWOSOME: George (Jean Dujardin) joins Peppy (Bérénice Bejo) in a dance sequence in the film The Artist. Image: The Weinstein Company.
Notable performances come courtesy of John Goodman who is fantastic as the studio boss Al Zimmer, whose eagerness to embrace talkies is not only about making profits but to help evolve and grow the film industry; James Cromwell is charming and affable as George’s faithful personal assistant named Clifton who still cares about George even after he fires him; Uggie the Jack Russell Terrier as Jack is a crowd-pleaser and scene-stealer and Penelope Ann Miller is engaging as George’s long-suffering wife Doris, who suspects he is having affairs, feels neglected and lonely, especially as George always brings his work home and never stops “acting”.
COURAGEOUS CANINE: Jack the dog (Uggie) plays the hero as Peppy (Bérénice Bejo) watches on in the film The Artist. Image: The Weinstein Company.
The Artist is a sublime cinematic experience with fantastic performances from the ensemble cast, providing humour, wit and drama performed without spoken words. There are many memorable moments that audiences will love including Jack the dog’s heroic rescue, rehearsal/audition/dance sequences, Peppy’s private moment with George’s jacket in his dressing room, or the staircase scene that is an allegory of the ups and downs of show business and how it affects those who work in the film industry. It’s a film about intertwined destinies when one kind gesture from a superstar at the height of his career can lead to unexpected generosity in return when he loses everything.
The Artist screens in limited release from Thursday 2 February 2012.
The Artist, Behind The Scenes Film Trailer (courtesy of The Weinstein Company):
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Writer: Michel Hazanavicius (screenplay)
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Malcolm McDowell, Missi Pyle, Beth Grant, Joel Murray, Ken Davitian, Ed Lauter, Bitsie Tulloch, Basil Hoffman, Nina Siemaszko, Bill Fagerbakke, Cletus Young, Uggie the dog.
Producers: Danile Delume, Antoine de Cazotte, Richard Middleton, Emmanuel Montamat, Thomas Langmann
Director of Photography: Guillaume Schiffman
Original Music Composer: Ludovic Bource
Film Editors: Michel Hazanavicius, Anne-Sophie Bion
Production Designer: Laurence Bennett
Costume Designer: Mark Bridges
Running Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes
References:
*BBC news online staff writer. ‘Artist director responds to Kim Novak Vertigo claim’. 10 January 2012. BBC news website:
Really Long Link
**From the Oxford Dictionary: flapper noun, informal - (in the 1920s) a fashionable young woman intent on enjoying herself and flouting conventional standards of behaviour.
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