Review
«We didn't need dialogs we had faces» said the narcissistic Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) in Billy Wilder' "Sunset Boulevard" referring to the Silent Era when she used to be big … before the 'pictures got small'.The reason of this introduction is that after watching Michel Hazanavicius' critically acclaimed "The Artist" I strongly felt this was the perfect illustration to Norma Desmond's iconic eulogy. From beginning to end my eyes never ceased to be amazed by the communicative smile of Jean Dujardin as George Valentin the aging silent movie star and the sparkling eyes of Berenice Bejo as Peppy Miller the young and flamboyant starlet. Their faces occupy the screen with such an electrifying magnetism that they don't just steal the scenes they steal the dialogs … literally.I was awestruck by Dujardin's performance. To those who didn't grew up with French TV programs he's one of the most popular and talented comedians of his generation. Dujardin created the character of Brice de Nice a blonde surfer whose specialty was to ɽiss people' but it was so funny it never sounded meanspirited. He was a member of a cult comictroop (who made sketches à la SNL) but even back then he had a little something that made him special a voice a smile a charisma in both TV and movies in both dramatic and comedic register. There was no doubt in France that the guy who was famous for his impressions of Robert De Niro and the camel (and even De Niro doing the camel) was promised to a brilliant career.Look closely at Jean Dujardin's face it's like drawn with ɼlassic' features the finely traced mustache who builds a Fairbankslike charisma like the strength from Samson's hair the dazzling smile making him look like the lost son of Gene Kelly and a certain macho toughness reminding of a young Sean Connery. Dujardin's face is a gift from cinematic Gods and "The Artist" finally lets it glide earning him the Cannes Festival Award for Best Actor. I sincerely believe he deserves an Oscar nomination because he just doesn't play an actor from the Silent Era he embodies the Era with the same level of demented craziness as Norma Desmond in a brighter and more lighthearted side.Valentin's selfabsorption echoes Desmond's cynical ego while his gaudy ɽon Lockwood' mask (Gene Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain") hides the more poignant face of his insecurity. He's the star of the screen because only the screen allows him to express his unique talent. While Lockwood had to adapt to the 'talking' revolution George Valentin makes a conservative U Turn starting an inexorable descent into madness from an outcast to a hasbeen until being finally alienated by his own talkiephobia. The direction is so clever that it challenges many times our perceptions creating unexpected feelings of discomfort when real sounds are heard. But I was surprised to see how much it worked on a dramatic level.And this is the strength of the film although I expect it to discomfort some viewers it isn't a tribute in the literary meaning of the word. It has its moments where it tricks us into the use of sounds or dialogs but never fails to distract us from the core of the story the romance. Very quickly we forget about spotting the hints the references to silent classics chase scenes overthetop comical gesticulations slapstick jokes etc. This mindset would disappoint those who expected a film with the same material as Mel Brook's "Silent Movie" which was clearly a tribute. "The Artist" IS a silent movie featuring a beautiful romance between George and Peppy who got her break with an idea from George something that would make her different from the other actresses a beauty spot above the upper lip. A clever creditbilling montage depicts her consequent ascension to stardom until she finally dethrones George and makes a hasbeen out of him.If I mentioned the performance of Dujardin Berenice Bejo also deserves some accolades because she succeeded in looking so "old" from our POV yet so fresh and modern in the film with the appealing feelgood and optimistic attitude she constantly brings on screen. With her dollface and youngish smile she's like a cute little girl enjoying what she does. In a way Peppy Miller embodies the film's most inspirational element a positive message about passion and enjoyment. And this indirectly highlights George's source of troubles being deprived from what he enjoyed the most and suffering from his progressive fading into oblivion. Along with this conflict the evolution of George and Peppy's romance never feels forced quite an accomplishment when we consider how slightly overthetop silent movie stars used to act.Both Dujardin and Bejo are indeed powerful in an Oscarworthy level and at that moment I can't continue without mentioning the third character of the film George's dog. The relationship between George and the dog provides a sort of Chaplinesque feel to the movie a mix of tenderness and poignancy so natural and convincing I wonder if the Academy will think of a honorary Oscar. Anyway I applaud Hazanivicius for not having reduced "The Artist" to a flashy spectacle with no substance with the word 'homage' as the director's convenient alibi and make a touching romance about two people who met each other at a pivotal time in the history of filmmaking each representing a side of cinema the oldschool silent generation Chaplin Keaton Pickford and the exuberant talkers Grant Hepburn Davis … And I'm glad he found the true note to reconcile between these two universes at the end … didn't I tell you Dujardin was the lost son of Gene Kelly"The Artist" plays like a missing link between "Singin' in the Rain" and "Sunset Boulevard" and it's indeed one of the best films of 2011 with the absence of words as an endearing 𧯪uty spot'.