The Artist

THE ARTIST
ENTERTAINMENT
RELEASED 30th December 2011

Could a black and white silent movie bag a few Oscars in 2012? It sounds ludicrous, but after you’ve seen ‘The Artist’, you’ll be in no doubt that this imaginatively retro attempt will be in with a shout.

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is the silent movie star of his day. A chance encounter in front of adoring fans and photographers with aspring actress Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) helps kickstart her own career, which co-incides with the advent of talkies, a form of cinema that Peppy embraces but Valentin refuses to acknowledge, with fateful consequences for his fortunes.

For it’s first half, ‘The Artist’ is an affectionately funny look at the silent era. Most of the comedy comes from Dujardin’s fantastically expressive face, as well as his movie sidekick, ‘The Dog’ (Uggie), a loveable Jack Russell. Even though events take a darker turn, the joyous chemistry built up between George and Peppy is not lost, and there’s never seriously any doubt that a happy ending awaits our stylish couple.

From director Michel Hazanavicius (the two French ‘OSS 117’ Bond parody movies) comes the most original movie of 2011. A truly exuberant cinema experience, it’s unlikely you’ll leave a film more ‘buoyed’ than this for a long time.

FOUR OUT OF FIVE