The Artist (2011)

The Artist

Year:  2011

Director: Michel Hazanavicius

Cast: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, Penelope Ann Miller, James Cromwell

Before I begin my review…..

Let’s put it this way, anyone who saw The Artist before the Academy Awards this year knew it was going to win the big one.

I certainly did.

The Artist reminds me why I love movies. I love those trips to the cinema where you are completely engulfed by a beautiful film. It takes over you and causes an emotional reaction. I was in tears at the end of The Artist just from the impact of how amazingly beautiful the film is. The film reminds us that true beauty doesn’t always come in the use of colour or in the words, but in the way the actors tell a story just by the expressions on their face. This in itself is a tribute to not just the actors, but also to director and screenwriter, Michel Hazanavicius for getting optimal results out of his vision for the film.

The film deserves every Academy Award it won on the 26^th of February and I will always remember it as one of the great joys I experienced this year.

Review

The Artist proves that you don’t need dialogue, colour or special effects to make a truly beautiful film.

What makes The Artist such an amazing film is that it takes us back to the basics of cinema, yet it takes with it the things we have learnt in the meantime about what makes a truly wonderful and memorable film. The result is incredibly simple, yet incredibly complex and Michel Hazanavicius has given us something that we can truly marvel at.

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is the superstar of cinema in 1927. However, his superstar status is under threat with the arrival of talkies. He refuses to take part in this new fad believing he can make a great film without people hearing his voice. Unknown to him at the time, he actually helps talking cinema’s newest star, Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) in her rise to fame, which directly affects his demise. George does not realise the power of the talkies until his star starts fading rapidly.

The way in which The Artist is made is pure brilliance. It is almost a film within a film. The story is a very real tale about what many silent actors back when sound was introduced into their profession had to go through. George Valentin does tend to mirror the life of Douglas Fairbanks in many ways, as Fairbanks was the action hero of silent film and his star faded with the arrival of talkies. He didn’t have quite as much of a fall as Valentin in the film, but there are remnants of the great Fairbanks throughout the film. Not to mention there is a slight similarity in looks there too.

On the other hand, the film is made with the techniques that one would see in a silent film. The over the top movements and facial expressions which the actors give and obviously the use of a film long musical score and appearance of the written word on screen in the place of dialogue every so often are all features of silent films from the 1920’s.

Silent film may not seem too exciting to some people these days, but The Artist is one of those truly amazing silent films where you will soon forget that you are not actually hearing anything coming out of the actor’s mouths. You can hear it all, spoken dialogue or not.  

The film completely flows from beginning to end, with each scene contributing in a worthwhile way towards the greater picture. There is a lot of fun to be had with The Artist, it is filled with old Hollywood glamour which we can only dream about these days. The costumes are stunning and the recreation of this period in Hollywood is visually stunning.

Jean Dujardin is just perfect as George Valentin. He is completely likable and he is everything a star from the time period the film is set in should be, as well as leaving no doubt that he also belongs in 2011. He is so expressive in each of his facial expressions and is everything a lead character should be. The audience roots for him all through the film and longs for him to come out of his dark stage and be the star they know he is.

Berenice Bejo is also the perfect old Hollywood starlet. She is all class and she lights up the screen whenever she appears. Her emotions are evident through all her facial expressions and she is an absolute delight.

And of course, who can go past Uggie the Jack Russell terrier? A wonderful performance by an animal actor with such purity!

The Artist reminds us where we have come from and how we must never forget the glory of cinema then, but also that cinema’s glory days are still in progress with beautiful films such as this.

If only we could see such beautiful smiles and happy faces as we see in The Artist in everyday life.

10/10

Sources
Imdb.com

Country Strong

Country Strong
Year: 2010
Director: Shana Feste
Cast:  Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester

In My Own Words
Does anybody else find it funny that the only star of Country Strong who is first and foremost a singer outside this film, doesn't sing?

I bet you didn't pick that up until you just read that! Tim McGraw lives and breathes country music being the winner of three Grammy's, married to another country superstar, Faith Hill and has sold millions of records. I can imagine many country music fans would have flocked to see Country Strong in hope of seeing their idol sing on the big screen. Yes he has been in other films in which he hadn't sung in, but this film surely would have been the one he did considering it is about country singers such as himself. Not that it is a bad thing at all because it seperates him as a true actor rather than a singer only trying to be an actor, but it is just interesting that he is the only singer before actor out of the four and the only one who doesn't sing. That's all.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
Well, this is probably one cast you probably thought you would never see together in a film. We have Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow, country music superstar Tim McGraw, TRON: Legacy heart throb Garrett Hedlund and Gossip Girl and sometimes pop singer Leighton Meester. Interesting cast, but what about the movie around the cast, Country Strong?

Country Strong is one of those films which require a lot of brain power. Not during the film, but to actually figure out whether you enjoy it or not. It has good points and bad points, just as it has good songs and bad songs. Yet, it is worth a watch for a bit of cheese and a bit of drama.Country music fans will be ecstatic at the long awaited release of a country music film which proves country music to be cool and fun, and not dreary like it is sometimes made out to be.

After a horrific night nine months before in Texas when country music superstar, Kelly Canter (Gwyneth Paltrow) appeared onstage drunk, fell over a microphone cord, plummeted and lost her unborn child, her husband and manager, James (Tim McGraw)belives she is ready for her comeback tour. However, Kelly's younger lover and country music start on the rise, Beau (Garrett Hedlund) is not quite as sure. James oprganises a sold out tour of Nashville, Austin and Dallas for Kelly and takes Beau and the young starlet, Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester) along as support acts. These young stars are ready for their moment in the sun, but it seems that Kelly has already had hers.

There is always something fun about films based on the movie industry, and Country Strong is no exception. Something that Country Strong is also no exception for is that it is cheesy and contains stereo-typical characters for a film of this type. There are some great songs which would do well if they were released on their own ("Timing Is Everything") and then some really horrible and overly corny songs ( the horrible but somehow catchy and toe- tapping "Summer Girl"). There are moments of thrill and goosebumps where the the stars are applauded by massive concert crowds. Country Strong ticks all boxes for a cheesy entertainment based spectacular.

However, Country Strong is inconcsistent to say the least. The story is actually very good and quite entrancing at times, but the script is quite lame which destroys the vibe of the story. There are un-nesccessary lines where there should just be emotion through facial expressions and this would have made the movie far more endearing. For example, when Chiles gives her first performance in front of James to prove she is good enough to tour with Kelly, the audience would have benefited far more if her character had shown her ambition and then nerves through her body language and facial expressions rather than her lines. Yet, the ending is still strong and quite unpredictable.

Gwyneth Paltrow does very well in this film. She plays out well the woman who everyone thought was very close to making a full recovery and goes on a downward spiral into coming undone once again. At the beginning of the film, she is not quite as strong a character as what she becomes in the audiences eyes further into the film. The only thing about Paltrow's performance is that she really has no chemistry with her co-stars. She doesn't seem to be overly in love with her husband ( although at times you're not sure whether she actually is) and there is no chemsitry between her and Garrett Hedlund at all.

 Tim McGraw is also very good, yet one would expect him to be in a film which is based on his main career outside the film. He shows a tremendous amount of love and pain for his wife. It is unclear whether he is actually supposed to be a good guy or a bad guy in this film. He seemingly forces his wife back into the spotlight when she clearly is not ready, yet he never fails in his love for her and, unlike his wife, doesn't have a wandering eye.

Garrett Hedlund is fine. He does well, but his performance is not by any means spectacular. However, who knew he had the perfect voice for country music? Leighton Meester's Chiles doesn't have a particular strong character and at the beginning she starts off quite weak as a result of a bad script, but she finishes off quite well. When happy, her smile does definitely light up the screen.

Country Strong is not the dramatic film which director, Shana Feste may or may not have wanted it to be. It has as many flaws as it does strengths, and like it or not, it is still a fun watch. The combination of Paltrow, McGraw, Hedlund and Meester is enough to bring in the curious folk.
6/10

Nine

Nine
Year: 2008
Director: Rob Marshall
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench

In My Own Words
I went into this movie with the lowest of expectations. I always see it as a bad thing if a film has a huge Oscar buzz about it and then doesn’t deliver come nomination time. It’s never a good sign. However, I enjoyed “Nine” a lot more than what I thought I would. I love feeling this way, there is such a buzz coming out of a film you thought would be a complete fail and knowing you were wrong. In saying that, I can understand why it has been panned by other critics and neglected from much of the Oscar nominations. In saying this, I believe that the academy even got the nominations “Nine” did get wrong.

One thing I will say is that Rob Marshall must be a huge Federico Fellini. Obviously “Nine” is based on the Broadway show of the same name, but the Broadway show is then based on the 1963 Italian film “8 ½” . “8 ½” is not a musical so it does not contain the breaks in the story for the musical numbers, and the story is different. The majority of the characters have the same names and certain scenes are recreated to the finest detail, such as Saraghina’s little beach number. There are even certain scenes, such as Claudia at the fountain, which reminds me of another Fellini masterpiece, “La Dolce Vita”. I honestly think that films like “8 ½” and “La Dolce Vita” work better in the style that they were initially filmed in rather than try to be redone mixing both the stage show and the film. I did like the film, but there were parts of the film that I didn’t like, and Rob Marshall trying to mix “Chicago” and “8 ½” was the main reason I didn’t like it.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“Nine”, based on the Broadway play of the same name, can be described as an enjoyable mess. There are some amazing things about the film, yet there are some things that bring its buzz down. The unstoppable Daniel Day-Lewis plays Guido Contini, a film director who under pressure to write and direct a film in 10 days. It isn’t only the pressure of the film playing on his mental health, but also the relationships with the women in his life. His trials and tribulations with himself and his women are expressed through both the script and musical numbers. However, the two narrative forms collide in this film making the combination quite messy. The film could have been constructed in a way so that these two could have worked together to flow smoothly, but the way which director, Rob Marshall separates the script and the songs makes the film jerky and uneven. The jerkiness of the film makes the storyline seem weak. It is as though Marshall is trying to put what proved to be the winning formula of the musical numbers on the stage that was present in “Chicago” into “Nine”, as well as having the storyline carried off the stage. Unfortunately this is formula is not for this film.

In saying this, there are many good things about “Nine” that stop it from being a failure. Firstly, the scenery and visuals are stunning. The film is definitely a great tourist advertisement for Italy, even if we are no longer in the 1960’s when the film is set. The musical numbers are also outstanding and the songs are extremely catchy, especially “Take It All”, “Cinema Italiano” and “Be Italian”. The musical numbers, although disruptive to the storyline rather than enhancing it, are well choreographed and beautiful to watch.

The acting is also a stand out in this film. Daniel Day-Lewis is perfect as Guido and is perfectly cast. The star of the film is the consistently brilliant Marion Cotillard as Guido’s wife, Luisa. She gives a heartfelt performance in which the audience feels her emotion, especially in her number “My Husband Makes Movies”. She is extremely unlucky to have not received an Oscar nomination for her efforts in this film. There is great screen chemistry in between her and Day-Lewis, both in love and anger. Penelope Cruz is also a stand out as Guido’s mistress, Carla. She plays the role of the mistress well, being sexy as well as vulnerable and desperate for Guido’s affections. Dame Judi Dench is charming as per usual, and it is joyful to see her try her hand at a musical number throughout the film. Both Nicole Kidman and Kate Hudson have almost unnecessary roles, but both provide great songs for the film soundtrack.

“Nine” is a great musical, but not one of the great stories of the year. There are some extremely fun moments throughout the film and the players are far from bad, but the weakness of the storyline lets its good points down.
6.5/10