The Artist (2011)

Although I’d previously seen various 5 or 6-minute clips of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton's most famous and daring films. This was the first full length silent film I have ever watched, going in with low expectations I was pleasantly surprised.

The film is about a successful silent film actor who slowly gets replaced by modern technology. The plot makes sense as it takes place in the late 1920s when talking films first emerged and started taking over the film industry. I would say it is quite easy to follow but there are a few points where it does make you lose interest, especially when you struggle to relate to the scenarios either of the characters are in. However, what kept me engaged was the unique and modern take on silent film conventions. It uses diegetic sound to portray the emotions of the characters, as it would have been done back in the 20s. I did like the relationship between George and Peppy as it gives you a sense of classic Hollywood romantic comedy love story. For example, they used cross-cutting towards the end as Peppy rushed to George to save him is a common technique used in the genre and brought modernity to the film which I thought was a success.

I personally enjoyed this film more than I thought I would. I have to admit I was tempted to skip ahead sometimes as I didn’t really think it engaged me throughout, but after I got to the dream sequence, I think it picked up massively and enjoyed it much more after that. Whether it deserved to win 5 Oscars is questionable. Although I believe Jean Dujardin was more than worthy to win best actor in a leading role as he played George with vast amounts of emotion. Unfortunately, the film struggled to entertain me between the beginning and the dream sequence, but I persevered, and I am happy I did as the film picked up significantly after the dream sequence.

As I've mentioned before my favourite scene is the dream sequence that’s because of the techniques used, the message behind it and the way it breaks silent film conventions. However, a close second to the dream sequence was the ending scene. After coming to terms with the evolution of films George starts in a film with his love interest Peppy and the filmmaker once again uses diegetic sound to give meaning to the scene.

I would only recommend this film to people who are already fans of silent films as I believe “the Artist” beautifully encapsulates the feel of a classic 1920s silent film with many similar tropes. However, I would not go out of my way suggesting the film and speaking highly of it. Although it was significantly better than expected I would still not rank it much higher than a 2/5.