"The Artist" movie review

                                   

In a world of senseless commercialism, over-the-top special effects, and marketing, it is easy to lost sense of what it really means to enjoy the art of film. But every once in a while, we are fortunate enough to see a movie that brings that feeling back to us.
For me, The Artist did just that. 
It took me a while to see this movie because I was secretly afraid that I would get bored with it (blame the radiation from the nuclear bomb by generation left behind). But I was pleasantly surprised. The film centers around a silent movie star who meets an up-and-coming actress, and, upon aiding her launch into the stratosphere of fame, begins to realize that his own career is going downhill, due to the introduction of "Talkies" and the changing atmosphere of the film industry.
The director took a clever take with this film, in that he made the entire movie silent, save for an excellent musical score and a nightmare sequence in which the main character hears everything else making noise, but he remains mute. It really shows how much actors rely so much on dialogue these days to deliver a performance. Even without vocal performances, the actors do such a great job with body language that we are able to understand what is going on the whole time. (P.S, props to the doggy for an equally excellent performance!) The cinematography is good, and even though it isn't as grainy as a 1920's film should be, I think that the sharper image gives a sense that we can still make movies like they were back then, despite the temptation of technology.
This movie was a refreshing break from the CGI fests that are put out there today. The Artist makes us yearn for the old days of Hollywood gold, when the stories were simple but compelling and not filled with sex, violence, drugs, profanity, and commercialism. The film definitely deserved every single one of its Oscars and is definitely worth the cellulite it's manufactured on (or, at least, would be manufactured on). Totally worth the wait. I would go buy it on DVD if I couldn't already get it off Netflix.
Overall rating: 10/10