The Artist - 3.5 / 5
The Artist turned out to be a pretty good movie. It's fun, it's entertaining, it has a few poignant scenes, good acting, it has a not-so-inaccurate portrayal of the demise of some of the biggest silent era stars, and it's an homage to silent films in general. BUT...
As an homage to silent films, it lacks a little depth. In that regard, Hugo did a lot better portraying the impact silent films had. And as a critique on how the silent era stars were treated when 'talkies' took over, it doesn't have the enormous sting that Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd. had (maybe because it tries to be an homage at the same time).
But despite these shortcomings (and a thin story), it gets a lot of things right. The entire film *feels* right (costumes, art direction, cinematography, music, etc. all hit the nail on the head), Dujardin channels some 20s and 30s stars like Douglas Fairbanks, Clark Gable and Errol Flynn (although the mustache and hair help), Bérénice Bejo is incredibly endearing and disarming, there's a lot less overacting than I had feared (it only happens when it has to), and it manages to entertain and captivate in a way reminiscent of Singin' in the Rain (though it's not nearly as great)...
In an age where everything gets more and more digital and spectacular, it's nice to see a film that at least *tries* to do something different. It may not have succeeded completely, and it may have simply attempted something that was the norm 90 years ago (so it's definitely not new), at the very least they ended up with something entertaining...
I see it mainly as a (mostly) silent mix between Sunset Blvd. and Singin' in the Rain. It just doesn't fully reach all the heights of both those movies...
Oh, but that dog was brilliant!
