~Friday~ Through some form of social media recently, I was pointed to an article called, 5 Critically-Acclaimed Movies That Bombed At The Box Office: The Artist, Man on the Moon, The Shawshank Redemption, Office Space, Blade Runner, and The Bottom Line.
Of those, I’ve only seen The Shawshank Redemption, and I’ve read the book as well.
A quick look at the website for The Artist, and I decided it might be interesting to check it out. My friend, a huge movie buff, had also not seen it, and he agreed to put it in his Netflix queue, and last night we watched it together.
Winner of the prize for Best Actor in 2011 Cannes Film Festival, Michel Hazanavicius’s THE ARTIST is a heartfelt and entertaining valentine to classic American cinema. Set during the twilight of Hollywood’s silent era and shot on location in Los Angeles, THE ARTIST tells the story of a charismatic movie star unhappily confronting the new world of talking pictures. Mixing comedy, romance and melodrama, THE ARTIST is itself an example of the form it celebrates: a black-and-white silent film that relies on images, actors and music to weave its singular spell.
Some observations:
- I thought it was quite engaging for a silent film, no doubt about that.
- I liked how “I reject the talkies” manifested itself in the action of the protagonist.
- I loved this dialog exchange between the protagonist and his wife:
- Doris: I am unhappy, George.
- George: So are millions of us.
- There was actually something I would have done differently if were directing that movie, which is pretty damn presumptuous, since I have no directing experience whatsoever.
So, overall, I enjoyed this movie enough, but it certainly didn’t blow me away or anything. I’d sum it up this way: I’m glad I saw it. I’m more glad I saw it for free.