The Artist

We've started playing "catch-up" trying to see some of the movies that are generating much Oscar buzz. Luckily for us, the Art Theatre just up the street started showing The Artist on Thursday, which afforded us the chance to see it last night.

For those who don't know much about the film, it tells the tale of actor George Valentin, one of the Silent Era's top-grossing stars. At the peak of his stardom, movie studios begin introducing a new feature to movies: talking pictures. He sees "talkies" as a passing fad, but soon realizes that the public disagrees. His star quickly begins to dim, while that of Peppy Miller, a young actress who stumbled upon her big break thanks to Valentin, begins to ascend to the top or the talking pictures.

It's a wonderful film, perfectly capturing that specific time period in motion pictures when the silents were quickly fading into history. Not simply because the story is set during the latter part of the 1920s, but the movie is silent, using title cards and a beautiful score from Ludovic Bource to tell the tale. Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Béjo could have been silent movie stars, they're performances were so spot-on. Plus, the supporting cast, including John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle and Uggie the dog, were flawless.

And that dancing sequence at the end!

If you haven't seen The Artist yet, head to a theater now!!!

Image from Global Mechanic Blog.