I absolutely loved The Artist. I wasn't sure how they were going to manage the translation from "Silent" to "Talkies", and the fact that they just kept the whole film silent I thought was wonderful.
I heard a review that commented that Silent films were, in a way, a more pure form of acting - you didn't have to worry about anybody else's words getting in the way, or about having a cold that made your voice clog up, or about accidentally telling more than showing. The only acting that mattered was in your face and body. I'm not an actor or a film student or a filmmaker, but it was really interesting to compare the way the acting in The Artist was done to the way it's done in other modern movies. More focus on the eyes, on the faces - the actors having to work far harder at what they do. Not to say talkies are bad, just to say they're different.
The story it told was good, though it dragged at times, but there were moments that utterly tore at your heart - the punch to the soul that was seeing the empty pavement where Clifton had been standing the day before, or George pouring whiskey over his reflection, both made my heart ache. But really, it was the characters that drove the movie, rather than the story.
Absolutely excellent, well deserving of the Oscar.
Stunning
I absolutely loved The Artist. I wasn't sure how they were going to manage the translation from "Silent" to "Talkies", and the fact that they just kept the whole film silent I thought was wonderful.
I heard a review that commented that Silent films were, in a way, a more pure form of acting - you didn't have to worry about anybody else's words getting in the way, or about having a cold that made your voice clog up, or about accidentally telling more than showing. The only acting that mattered was in your face and body. I'm not an actor or a film student or a filmmaker, but it was really interesting to compare the way the acting in The Artist was done to the way it's done in other modern movies. More focus on the eyes, on the faces - the actors having to work far harder at what they do. Not to say talkies are bad, just to say they're different.
The story it told was good, though it dragged at times, but there were moments that utterly tore at your heart - the punch to the soul that was seeing the empty pavement where Clifton had been standing the day before, or George pouring whiskey over his reflection, both made my heart ache. But really, it was the characters that drove the movie, rather than the story.
Absolutely excellent, well deserving of the Oscar.