With a swing!
Last night, I went to see The Artist, and OMG I LOVED IT SO MUCH. Not only is it a marvelous film in its own right, but the experience of watching it is quite fascinating. The entire movie is silent, though with a great soundtrack and a sparing use of those old-timey intertitles to show dialogue. You really have to pay attention in a totally different way than you do with other movies, as much of the experience is interpreting what happens onscreen without the easy cues of characters' speech. I thought I'd have difficulty due to my ridiculous ADHD, but I was engrossed throughout. After the film, my friend and I discussed whether it was a gimmick. We concluded that although the "silent movie" thing is kind of a gimmick, it works really well (especially in 2012) because of how it challenges our assumptions and opens up a whole different meaning -- to our modern minds -- of what a movie should be.
The Artist is also filled with amazing acting. Jean Dujardin is SO charming and gives a hell of a performance. Berenice Bejo is perfect as the ingenue with her winks and wide-eyed savvy. Those two deserve Oscars just for all the DANCING -- skip to 1:05 of the trailer to see them tapping their hearts out. Michel Hazanavicius' directing is also remarkable for how he captures those slightly jerky and exaggerated physical movements of old movies. (Gee, I'm gushing a lot. Can you tell how much I adored this movie? :)
Plus, I knew going in that I would love it because Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing" always puts me in the HAPPIEST mood! I'm trying not to say anything spoilery here -- though you can probably guess how the movie plays out as the plot itself is not exactly revolutionary. ;) But I'd love to discuss it in the comments if any of y'all have also seen it! Yay!
The Artist is also filled with amazing acting. Jean Dujardin is SO charming and gives a hell of a performance. Berenice Bejo is perfect as the ingenue with her winks and wide-eyed savvy. Those two deserve Oscars just for all the DANCING -- skip to 1:05 of the trailer to see them tapping their hearts out. Michel Hazanavicius' directing is also remarkable for how he captures those slightly jerky and exaggerated physical movements of old movies. (Gee, I'm gushing a lot. Can you tell how much I adored this movie? :)
Plus, I knew going in that I would love it because Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing" always puts me in the HAPPIEST mood! I'm trying not to say anything spoilery here -- though you can probably guess how the movie plays out as the plot itself is not exactly revolutionary. ;) But I'd love to discuss it in the comments if any of y'all have also seen it! Yay!