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| Michel Hazavanicius' The Artist transports audiences back in time to a more simplistic era. |
Calling a film such as The Artist, a diamond in the rough may seem on the verge of cliché, but in truth, in the midst of all the countless sequels made for the simple pleasure of making more money and the hapless romances spewing straight from Hollywood’s churning mill, audiences are in desperate need of a reminder of the early days of the industry. Before the time of 3D, a time before breakthrough special effects and even a time before color, films were silent, shot in black-and-white. Audiences hardly have an appreciation for a style they consider archaic that it’s almost a shame that The Artist will not appeal to a universal audiences.
However for us cinemaphiles, a film like The Artist comes along on the rarest of occasions. The film follows film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), who has reigned supreme over the silent era, only to find the times are quickly changing as the medium is quickly moving to talkies. Valentin forms an on-and-off relationship with up and comer, Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), who breaks out onto the talkie scene after he insists that the studio use her in upcoming pictures.