Movie Review - "The Artist" (2011) ***1/2

     I'm not going to lie, I went into this film VERY apprehensive. I love movies, but I'm being completely honest when I say my love of movies is very modern. I'm still a newbie to classic cinema. I've gotten to where I can handle black and white films for the most part without any trouble and films like Psycho, 12 Angry Men, Casablanca, It's A Wonderful Life, and To Kill A Mockingbird are all personal favorites. I've never really dived into silent cinema and I can't even remember watching a full silent film all the way through. I know I need to at some point as I have heard wonderful things about actors like Chaplin and Keaton, but it's just never made it to my radar at this point. Maybe one day. But that brings us to The Artist, this years winner of the Best Picture award as well as Best Director and Best Actor. Out of all 9 films that I saw during the Best Picture Showcase, it's the one that I was most nervous about...yet was highly anticipated. It turns out that I was pleasantly surprised. I don't think it was close to the best picture of the year, but I enjoyed myself.

     The movie stars Jean Dujardin as silent movie star George Valentin. Valentin is THE man in 1927 Hollywood. Super popular and charming. The toast of the town. Think George Clooney magnified tenfold. He spins out blockbuster after blockbuster and takes in the accolades with the most charming grin you can imagine. Outside the theater during one of his premieres, he has a chance encounter with a young lady fan named Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo). Peppy ends up planting a kiss on the cheek of Valentin in front of a group of photographers, leading to headlines in the paper the next day stating "Who's That Girl?". Peppy draws the attention of prodcuers and when she shows up to audition for a part in Valentin's next film, she stands out in the crowd and claims the role. Immediately, Valentin and Miller now share the spotlight and she rises to fame. However, there is a change coming in Hollywood as sound has been added to movies, sparking the onset of "talkies". Peppy is open to the changes and because of that, her career continues to soar to new levels. George is skeptical though and refuses to enter the new frontier of film-making, leading to his ultimate demise. When two of their movies premiere opposite of each other, Peppy's brings in huge crowds while George's is a flop. George's world is turned upside-down and he struggles to face new realities as he watches his world crumble around him.

     For the first 20 minutes or so of The Artist I thought it was going to be a big mistake. I was not buying into the silent film aspect and I settled in for a long, boring film. I'm not sure exactly when it was, but somewhere during the mid-point of the film though I became aware that I was becoming more and more interested in the storyline. From that point on, my anticipation kept building and by the end of the movie, I was invested in these characters and surprised by how much I was enjoying myself. This was a movie that went from one star to nearly four stars in the span of about an hour. Afterwards, I asked myself if I would want to see something similar more often. The answer is Yes. I don't think I'll be rushing out to watch a bunch of silent films, but I'm more curious now than I have been in the past. And for that alone, The Artist receives a recommendation from me.  If you are like me and have been skeptical of films like this in the past, I encourage you to take a chance. I think you may find yourself as surprised as I was.