The Artist

My husband and I are both fairly big movie buffs. Although he has me beat by a mile. We both love movies, but he has seen WAY more than I have. (With the exception of chick flicks...he avoids that genre as much as possible and when we were dating I promised him that I would never ask him to go to a rom com with me.)

We both love I guess what you would call "old" movies. Classics. His favorite movie is "Casablanca." Mine is "White Christmas." We're both Hitchcock fans; his favorite being "Vertigo." Mine being "Rear Window." We have Bogey, Charlie Chaplin, Bing, Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant gracing the shelves of our DVD collection. Musicals, Westerns, Dramas...we have several movies from before 1970.

A few weeks ago we both kind of stumbled into the knowledge of the new movie "The Artist" at the same time. Buzz was building around it as the Golden Globes approached. (It has since been nominated for TEN Oscars.) Husby mentioned he wanted to see it. Me too! What would it be like to see this kind of movie on the big screen?

You see, "The Artist" is a silent film. (!) Shot in black in white. (!) In the old aspect ratio you don't see anymore so it's not "long" on the screen...it's square.

We saw it last night. We both loved it. What an experience to see in a theater and watch a movie with no dialogue...just music and the occasional "title" screen, just like they did in silent movies long ago. And at times...complete silence. The movie takes place in the late 20s and early 30s. It's a story about a silent movie actor, at the pinnacle of his fame. The movie follows his career as "talkies" reinvent the movie industry in 1929. As "talkies" grow in popularity, a young rising actress takes Hollywoodland (that's what they called it then) by storm. "The Artist" tells the story of these two actors and how their different paths in the movie industry keep intersecting and crossing.

Reasons I loved this movie:

1. The music is fantastic. Husby's great ear caught musical influences from Hitchcock's "Vertigo." I liked the jazzier swing music. My toe may or may not have been tapping once or twice.

2. The lead actor, Jean Dujardin, reminded me of one of my all-time favorite actors, Gene Kelly. There's even a great dance number in the movie. Dujardin doesn't dance as athletically as Kelly, but really, who does? No one can top Kelly in dancing talent. Ever. (Side note: One of my favorite movies is "Singing in the Rain" which stars Gene Kelly as a silent movie actor, thrown for a loop when "talkies" take over. Coincidence? These movies within a movie...quite an interesting way to tell a story.)

3. The costumes. Oh my. The 1920s had it going on in the fashion department. A fashion feast for the eyes. The flapper dresses, the suits, the hats, the shoes. All so great. Especially the hats.

4. The lead actress, Berenice Bejo is as adorable as they come. Charming as charming can be.

5. The most adorable little dog has a great role and provides a lot of comedic laughs. He pretty much has the 3rd biggest part in the movie.

6. Great casting. John Goodman plays a darn good cigar chomping, "tough guy" exterior, director.

7. It's amazing what can be conveyed without words. Just though facial expressions, body language, music and movement.

If you like old movies, get to this movie as soon as you can. It was the best movie I've seen so far this year. And yes, granted, it's the ONLY movie I've seen so far this year so there's no competition, but it will be interesting to see how far into 2012 I get before I see a movie I enjoy more. We have approximately 347* movies in our house...this will be one more added when it's available on DVD.

Here's a link to the trailer.
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3105725977/

*Disclaimer: I don't know the exact number of movies we have. But it's a lot.