The Artist’ delivers 2011’s finest film in exquisite silence
Will audiences turn out for the year’s best movie, if it’s black and white, silent, and French?
- The Weinstein Company
- DOG DAYS OF SILENT CINEMA: Jean Dujardin (left) and Uggie in ‘The Artist’
American movie audiences probably won’t ever flood the multiplex for a silent, black and white French film. But if Michel Hazanavicius’ ingenious melodrama The Artist ever had a chance to draw box office interest, it’s now. It’s a critical darling at the end of 2011, snapping up Golden Globe nominations and “Best of the Year” awards.
Even more opportune, The Artist arrives in the wake of two movies about similar subjects. Martin Scorsese evoked the pleasures of silent era cinema with Hugo, while The Muppets paid tribute to the same kind of old Hollywood showmanship that The Artist embraces. After a year of 3-D movies, audiences might even appreciate The Artist’s old-school take on cinematic presentation.