Cinema Review – The Artist


The Artist – Starring: Jean Dujardin, B�r�nice Bejo, John Goodman

Director: Michel Hazanavicius

Certificate: PG

Running time: 100 minutes

On general release

When movie mogul Harvey Weinstein told his brother and business partner Bob that their studio should buy The Artist, he thought his sibling had gone crazy. 
A mostly silent, black-and-white French film starring no big names? Surely not? 
A nice collection of awards later – and more gongs surely to follow come Oscar time – and Harvey Weinstein looks like 
a genius. With its charming performances, clever storyline and inspired soundtrack, Michel Hazanavicius’s film is an utterly beguiling love letter to cinema.

The opening scene sets the tone as we are transported back to the silent movie days of the late 1920s. The biggest star in Hollywood, George Valentin (Dujardin) is at the height of his powers, packing out cinemas with cheesy adventure films. 
At the premiere of his latest movie, he bumps into aspiring actress Peppy Miller (Bejo), and sparks fly. Their lives change dramatically when studio boss Al 
Zimmer (Goodman) starts favouring ‘talkies’, with Miller blossoming into 
a superstar and a stubborn Valentin becoming a cinematic dinosaur. As their careers go in opposite directions the pair have to overcome bitterness, suspicion, pride and Valentin’s drinking problem 
if they are to end up together.

Using only body language and facial expressions, Dujardin and Bejo craft one of the most memorable love stories in recent years. Dujardin, who won the 
Best Actor award at the 2011 Cannes 
Film Festival, does a wonderful job portraying Valentin’s descent from gurning buffoon to a suicidal drunk, 
and is matched by the infectiously 
bubbly Bejo. They might also have to create a Best Supporting Canine Oscar 
for Valentin’s scene-stealing Jack 
Russell sidekick.

Behind the camera Hazanavicius works miracles, punctuating his film with occasional moments of sound – a glass being put down on a table, a deep breath – that are both ingenious and thrilling. 
If, as some predict, The Artist becomes the first fully French-created film to triumph in the Best Picture category at the Oscars, it will be the most worthy of winners.

Other films out this month

CINEMA

A Dangerous Method (from 10 February) features French star Vincent Cassel in 
a supporting role as Austrian psychoanalyst Otto Gross in David Cronenberg’s film chronicling the intense relationship between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

Hadewijch (from 17 February) tells the story of Christian fundamentalist C�line vel Hadewijch. Played by rising star Julie Sokolowski, she is thrown out of 
a convent and moves back to Paris where she befriends a Muslim extremist.

DVD

Coco (20 February) – French-Moroccan comedian Gad Elmaleh’s film features 
a wealthy businessman who alienates 
his family when he plans a massive 
bar mitzvah celebration.

Midnight in Paris (6 February) – 
Woody Allen makes a return to form 
with this charming comedy in which Luke Wilson magically steps back into 
the 1920s while out for a stroll in the 
City of Light.