Films of 2012
Jan. 29th, 2012 07:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fyre#3 The Artist
I only found out that it was an almost entirely silent film the same day as I was going. I'm really not up to date with current films and what they're about. Still, as a film about the rise of the Talkies, done in the style of a black and white silent picture, this was a treat.
What this film really did was show that even a simple story can be made captivating by good acting and great direction. You don't even need audible dialogue. This film takes all that is loved from the black and white silent pictures of Yore, and writes a love letter to them.
The story follows the love story of two performers: George, the long-time star of the silent features, and Peppy, a fan who ends up in the movies as an extra, and becomes one of the faces of the new Talkies. The relationship that develops follows his descent and her rise, and their developing feelings for one another.
Like I said - a simple story. There's a lot of the hammy, cheerful, over-the-top acting of the silent films, which makes the serious acting stand out even more sharply. I have to admit I wasn't sure about George as a character at first, because he was the big Hollywood star with the ego to match, but seeing how he was humbled and broken as the world changed around him made him a much more interesting character.
What I really loved, though, was the background stuff: the music, the set, the look of the thing. I loved seeing the old cars, the old studios, the style. That period, the late twenties, had such a glamorous look and really, this film knew how to use it.
While I'm not sure if I'll get it on DVD, it was a lovely piece of nostalgic escapism, and definitely worth at least one viewing.
I only found out that it was an almost entirely silent film the same day as I was going. I'm really not up to date with current films and what they're about. Still, as a film about the rise of the Talkies, done in the style of a black and white silent picture, this was a treat.
What this film really did was show that even a simple story can be made captivating by good acting and great direction. You don't even need audible dialogue. This film takes all that is loved from the black and white silent pictures of Yore, and writes a love letter to them.
The story follows the love story of two performers: George, the long-time star of the silent features, and Peppy, a fan who ends up in the movies as an extra, and becomes one of the faces of the new Talkies. The relationship that develops follows his descent and her rise, and their developing feelings for one another.
Like I said - a simple story. There's a lot of the hammy, cheerful, over-the-top acting of the silent films, which makes the serious acting stand out even more sharply. I have to admit I wasn't sure about George as a character at first, because he was the big Hollywood star with the ego to match, but seeing how he was humbled and broken as the world changed around him made him a much more interesting character.
What I really loved, though, was the background stuff: the music, the set, the look of the thing. I loved seeing the old cars, the old studios, the style. That period, the late twenties, had such a glamorous look and really, this film knew how to use it.
While I'm not sure if I'll get it on DVD, it was a lovely piece of nostalgic escapism, and definitely worth at least one viewing.
