We saw "The Artist" this weekend
Jan. 30th, 2012 03:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drwexThe movie got a bunch of nominations and lo we had a kid-free afternoon so we went. I was underwhelmed. 2/5 stars. It's a one-trick pony: they made a silent film in 2011. Yay. And...?
It's not even a particularly good silent film, as it is really about the fall of the silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) as the world transitions from silent films to talkies and a young new star - Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) - who rises with them. As a character pic I liked it even less, though I don't think that's any of the actors' faults. All of them give excellent performances. Doing a complex character with no dialog is a skill not commonly found these days. It's pretty completely the script's fault.
My biggest problem with the film is that I hate the lead. Valentin has no redeeming characteristics that we can see: he's in a loveless marriage with a wife he ignores or placates; he's rude to his film costars; he's willing to chase young starlets when he thinks he can. He drinks and smokes and does nothing with his life. He's obnoxious to people who care for him. His sin is supposed to be "Pride" but I think "Being an Ass" is a bigger sin.
The script also drags out his inevitable fall for far too long. I kept waiting for something to happen. When he finally does his big dramatic scene in the apartment with piling the celluloid up I was thinking "OK great next there will be a fire and he'll die tragically the end can we go now?" Sadly he doesn't even manage that so he gets to be a direct shit to someone who loves him... in a kind of very creepy stalkerish way. Ugh.
It's not like Michel Hazanavicius set out to write a bad film - he just wrote a film in which there isn't anything I care to hang my hat on. So it ends up as a sort of interesting conceit and I really couldn't care less.
It's not even a particularly good silent film, as it is really about the fall of the silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) as the world transitions from silent films to talkies and a young new star - Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) - who rises with them. As a character pic I liked it even less, though I don't think that's any of the actors' faults. All of them give excellent performances. Doing a complex character with no dialog is a skill not commonly found these days. It's pretty completely the script's fault.
My biggest problem with the film is that I hate the lead. Valentin has no redeeming characteristics that we can see: he's in a loveless marriage with a wife he ignores or placates; he's rude to his film costars; he's willing to chase young starlets when he thinks he can. He drinks and smokes and does nothing with his life. He's obnoxious to people who care for him. His sin is supposed to be "Pride" but I think "Being an Ass" is a bigger sin.
The script also drags out his inevitable fall for far too long. I kept waiting for something to happen. When he finally does his big dramatic scene in the apartment with piling the celluloid up I was thinking "OK great next there will be a fire and he'll die tragically the end can we go now?" Sadly he doesn't even manage that so he gets to be a direct shit to someone who loves him... in a kind of very creepy stalkerish way. Ugh.
It's not like Michel Hazanavicius set out to write a bad film - he just wrote a film in which there isn't anything I care to hang my hat on. So it ends up as a sort of interesting conceit and I really couldn't care less.
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Date: 2012-01-30 08:36 pm (UTC)I remember when we went to see "Fantastic Mr. Fox," Norman loved the movie, and I said, "But I don't actually LIKE Mr. Fox, which makes me not really care what happens to him." So I hear ya.
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Date: 2012-01-31 05:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-31 04:06 pm (UTC)