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Wednesday 18 January 2012

We want our money back! Errr......How About No?

So I am lead to understand there has been a public outcry, or at least a whimper, from those who are outraged by the fact that The Artist, one of the biggest releases of 2011 and undoubtedly one which is due some accolades at this year's Oscars (AKA. the awards that mean anything), is actually....wait for it....a silent movie!  Let us have a think about why these people are morons.

1 - Who wanders into a screening of The Artist, a film which has received huge noteriety for being something of a love letter to the era of silent film, adhering to the conventions of silent film, and then complains about it being a silent film?  How retarded must one be?  Had they not read or heard anything about this movie?  It takes a few seconds of listening to anyone talk about it, or a paragraph of any critic's review, to understand this is a silent movie.  What, all these people just saw the poster, the black and white, really classic looking poster, and decided to see it?  Granted, it is a beautiful poster, but such is its style I would not expect it to, on its own, attract the attention of such braindead, cinematically challenged idiots.

2 -  If these people had held their wad and just gone with it, at least some of them, perhaps many of them, may have reaped the rewards the film offers.  Why?  Because, contrary to what even I suspected, the silence thing isn't simply a gimmick; The Artist is a sincere effort, by someone who adores cinema, to make a genuine silent movie, consisting of realtively simple story, exaggeraed performances and score.  I was rather blown away by just how well it is done; it is a film that proves, with the right cast and team, a filmmaker can make an audience laugh, cry, and enjoy something wonderful with no need for words, because actions really can speak louder!  It is the core of cinema, it reminds us why film is so great, so romantic and beautiful, so powerful, why the moving image held such fascination in the first place.  To walk out of The Artist on the basis you want to hear actors speak is to completley miss the point.  Scenes as powerful as one in which Peppy watches the unwitting George from a distance, or in which George contemplates suicide illustrate just how little dialogue is needed; when an actor can make you feel everything you need to feel so deeply, with just their face and relation to each other, you realise why this film works!

3 - It actually isn't completely silent.  Okay, a petty point because it's about ninety-nine percent silent, but it's an opportunity to mention the rather clever introduction of sound in a movie about the advent of sound in cinema.

4 - How about.....It's fucking brilliant?!  I might even sympathise with these moaners a tad if the film was awful, but it's not, it is beautiful.  So much love and effort has gone into making this film look and sound amazing...Yes, it sounds amazing.  Such a cheeky, moving, creative score!

I guess I just can't understand why, in today's culture, there are those so unwilling to try something new, to give something a chance and surprise themselves.  Perhaps they see it as pointless.  It is the same for those who consider the black and white film outdated and immediately slap the boring label on it; the same people who think a colourised version of a film suddenly makes it acceptable, and the same people who think a shit film in 3D will be great all of a sudden, rather that just Shit In 3D.  Yes the movie is a silent one, but it's also rather astonisihing.  As for getting your money back.......You paid to see The Artist, you saw The Artist (or at least as much of it as you allowed to run before you walked out).....whose fault is it that you didn't do your research?

If you have not seen it yet, and you love film, check it out!

9/10

2 comments:

  1. Just curious what stopped it being 10/10 ;)

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  2. Haha, touche! Honetly, a couple of tinsy tiny gripes that weren't worth mentioning. Simon and I were discussing what makes a film 10/10...it has to be as close to perfect as possible, right? Well, I felt there were two things that stopped it being that for me personally, but if you look at my 2011 list, it's still number 2, just behind The Conspirator, which is also only 9. Wasn't meant to be a review so much as a rant about idiots :)

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