The Artist (PG)
HHHH
Dir: Michel Hazanavicius
With: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman
Running time: 100 minutes
HERE'S a real tonic for troops battling their way through grotty weather and New Year ennui. A comedy drama set in the days of silent cinema, Michel Hazanavicius's film is a roaring delight.
Readers familiar with the French spy spoof OSS17 will recognise the leading man, Jean Dujardin, here displaying his acting chops alongside that exquisite comic timing.
Dujardin plays George Valentin, a silent movie superstar. Valentin loves himself like the fans loved Valentino, and with silent cinema in its heyday as the film opens, it looks like his good fortune will continue forever.
Enter, stage left, two forces of nature – the arrival of the Talkies and a fame-hungry starlet, Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo). Fate, and studio boss Al Zimmer (John Goodman) will decide who thrives and who takes a dive.
The Artist may have its plot roots in Singin' in the Rain and some of the visual gags owe a debt to Buster Keaton and his heirs, but Hazanavicius's picture has a style all of its own. Brilliantly shot in smartest black and white, it takes the daring step of not just being set in the world of silent movies but of being a near silent film itself. To sit in a cinema where the only sounds are people laughing and musical accompaniment is an oddly calming experience, and one that comes highly recommended.
Dujardin is superb as the dreamer who has had his day, with Bejo spot on as the ambitious beauty with a heart, and the dance routines are belters.
Above all, what shines through The Artist is a love for cinema – as an art form, as a source of joy, as something to take the mind off those troubles for a spell. Hoof along to this one pronto.
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