It’s easy to fall in love with The Artist, a charming throw back to a time when Hollywood turned out films without relying on special effects, computer graphics, and 3-D. No surprise that the movie has already won the Golden Globe Award for Musical/Comedy and has been nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Actor, Jean Dujardin, and Actress, Bérénice Bejo. Will it spark a revival in black and white silent films? Crazier things have happened; this is, after all, Hollywood.
The Artist taps into our love for past films, the most obvious one being Singin’ in the Rain. The two have much in common: both plots revolve around Hollywood’s transition from silent films to “talkies”; Dujardin’s smile, slicked back hair, and tap dancing skills bear more than a passing resemblance to Gene Kelly; and, Bejo’s perky personality cannot help but remind us of the young Debbie Reynolds.
But there are other films that flit through our minds: A Star Is Born, where the female star’s career soars, while her husband’s career tanks; Citizen Kane, where the main character’s demise is symbolized by the selling off of his treasured belongings; and, the Thin Man series that featured a feisty and smart wire-haired fox terrier named Asta.
It would be unfair, however, to regard The Artist as simply a mish-mash of past movies. There’s a freshness to this film, directed and written by Michel Hazanavicius. American audiences will discover Dujardin and Bejo, two actors whose resumes, up until now, have included primarily foreign films and small parts in American ones. (Bejo, who is married to Hazanavicius, appeared in the 2001 A Knight’s Tale). Some well known actors pop up—James Cromwell as a chauffeur, John Goodman as a studio head, and Penelope Ann Miller as the film star’s wife—but the focus remans on Dujardin and Bejo.
Dujardin plays George Valentin, a widely popular silent film star. It’s 1927 and Valentin is basking in the public’s adoration after the premiere of his latest offering, A Russian Affair. Outside the theater, Valentin is besieged by fans and ends up having his photo taken with Peppy Miller (Bejo). The next day, the photo is splashed across the pages of Variety with the question, “Who’s That Girl?”
The exposure turns out to be the first step on Peppy’s road to fame. Auditioning for a part in Valentin’s next film, she is hired only after Valentin intervenes with Al Zimmer (Goodman), the head of Kinograph Studios. Valentin also encourages Peppy to be different, picking up an eyebrow pencil and adding what will become her signature beauty mark.
Ten years later, sound comes to the movies. Zimmer tells George he’s out. Time for some younger faces to usher in this new era. Valentin is dismissive and uses his own resources to produce another silent film. Miller is now a big star at Kinograph and her film, opening on the same day as Valentin’s, is a hit, while his bombs.
Valentin’s downward spiral continues. His wife (Miller) walks out, he can’t afford to pay his chauffeur, and his living quarters go from impressive to repulsive. Soon he is left with only Jack (Uggie), his faithful dog. Peppy, however, never forgets Valentin’s earlier kindness and the spark that existed between them. It’s inevitable that the two will somehow end up together. Getting there is half the fun.
Although English subtitles convey the dialogue, most times we already know what is being said simply through facial expressions and gestures. At one point Peppy dismisses silent film acting as “mugging,” a tongue in cheek comment on what we’re seeing. Yet that overacting is never annoying, perhaps because both Dujardin and Bejo are so appealing. The saying, “the camera loves her face,” has become a cliché, but in this film explains why we can’t take our eyes off Bejo whenever she’s on screen. Even in black and white, she sparkles.
Goodman is perfect as the blustering studio boss, while Cromwell’s fatherly presence helps to balance out the chaos in Valentin’s life. Kudos must go, however, to Uggie, whose Jack runs off, quite literally, with the film.
The film industry always seeks out the latest innovation and the newest trend to entice fans into the theater. (So far, Smell-O-Vision hasn’t gone anywhere, but who knows?) Perhaps The Artist will encourage a vintage movement, going back in time to preserve what we love about the movies. In case we have forgotten, The Artist serves up a great reminder.
