Recently, I was able to see “The Artist” in the theater. The movie was written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, and stars Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, and John Goodman. I chose to see this film because I had heard amazing reviews. It has received 10 Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Jean Dujardin, Best Supporting Actress for Berenice Bejo, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, and Best Film Editing. If you are deciding whether or not to see this film, first ignore the bias that you might feel against it because it is in black-and-white, or because it has no dialogue. You will thank me in the end.

It has been over 100 years since the advent of the motion picture. During the early stages of film, there did not exist sufficient technology to coincide images with sound. As a result, only silent films were being made. But everything changed when the first talking picture, “The Jazz Singer”, premiered in 1927. From that moment on, “talkies” were all the rage, and the silent film era had largely come to an end. In the present, silent films are widely viewed as an out-dated genre, and are rarely created by current film-makers. It is for this reason that I was surprised to hear about the existence of “The Artist,” a silent film emerging in the modern era. I was even more shocked when I heard about its wide, almost universal acclaim. But after viewing the film, I immediately understood.

“The Artist” takes place in the year 1927. George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a major star of silent films. One day, he meets the gorgeous young Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), who has ambitions to be a movie star herself one day. Seeing in her a great potential, he decides to assist her along the difficult road to stardom. After a time, it is clear that Valentin’s advice was effective, as Miller moves on to attract big roles in upcoming films. During this time, the first talking picture was made. The director of Valentin’s film studio, Al Zimmer (John Goodman), sees a future in this new form. Valentin, however, does not agree, and decides to leave the studio in order to direct his own silent film. But by 1929, it appeared that Zimmer’s prediction was accurate, as “talkies” now accounted for the great majority of productions. Valentin’s movie is a major flop. Downtrodden and depressed, Valentin closes himself off from the world, drowning his sorrows by starting to drink excessively. But while Valentin’s career had been declining, Miller’s was skyrocketing. Her latest films sell out theaters and crowd the headlines of entertainment newspapers. We are now faced with a polar situation: Valentin has become a washed-up nobody, while Miller is a household name.

In the silent film era, it was difficult to express human emotions, due to the fact that the viewer could not hear the actual speech said on screen. Although the dialogue between characters is shown through inter-title screens, this alone was not enough. The early film-makers were forced to find alternate ways to show emotion. One method, which was used quite often in silent films, is the use of exaggerated gestures and facial expressions. This is done with great precision in “The Artist.” At times we are not even given the benefit of inter-title screens, which would have told us the words being said. Yet, it does not feel necessary. With little difficulty, the audience is able to decipher exactly what was taking place; whether it was by close-ups of  Valentin’s expressions, Miller’s energetic gestures, or the animated conversations between characters.

Another way that we were able to understand the film was through the use of music. If one were to just listen to the background music of “The Artist” without seeing the film itself, it would be relatively easy to guess what is currently happening. During one scene, when we hear melancholy piano tones and soft flutes playing in the background, and we see Valentin and Miller staring deep into each others eyes, we are introduced to the idea that they share a mutual attraction. Towards the end, when the clearly bitter Valentin starts to smash and destroy his old films in a blind rage, we hear crashes of drums and fast-paced violins, as if directly feeling his inner turmoil. Blending perfectly with the events of the film, the music expressed emotions even deeper than actual dialogue could have done.

And none of this would have been quite as effective if we did not have Jean Dujardin as Valentin, the true “artist” behind the film. In expressing himself, Dujardin possesses a skill that can be likened to such artists as Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, both prominent stars of the silent film era. At the start, Valentin is a successful movie star with everything he could ask for, and we clearly see this as he struts with pride and wears a huge grin at all times. There were some scenes that, using physical comedy, were a clear homage to Chaplin himself. The best examples of this are scenes between Valentin and Jack, his well-trained Jack Russell terrier (Uggie), who performs various amusing tricks at the command of his owner. The resulting effect of these scenes is one of inescapable laughter. As Valentin’ s careers declines, and he starts to hide away from the world of talking pictures, we no longer see his bright, joyful smile. Instead, there are numerous shots of him slouching and holding his head in his hands, his face bleak and empty. Miller, likewise, shows her own transition. Her journey from a nobody to a major star is shown not only through her new expensive and lavish outfits, but also with an acquired confidence in the way she walks and the way she reacts to those around her. It can be easily be seen that her new-found success has gone to her head.

In the last few minutes of the film, the sound finally does come on, and we get to hear Valentin’s voice for the first time. In doing so, it seemed that Hazanavicius was making a statement on movies in general. But it isn’t necessarily a statement on how movies have become too flashy, or too dependent on special effects and visuals. Instead, the message seems to be to embrace our future, and to let go of the past so that movies, like all art forms, can find their “voice.” Ironically, it was only by creating an old-fashioned silent film that Hazanavicius could present this message.

“The Artist” is an exceptional film. Creating many homages to the silent film era, it easily stands to entertain audiences, young and old, in the present. Try as I might, I just could not help but smile at the end. Whether you are a lover of silent films, or have never seen one before, it is not an experience that you should miss out on.