I must say, I was a bit skeptical walking into 'The Artist', for as I glanced at the members of the audience, I just saw many senior citizens. I expected it to be much like The King's Speech, which I strongly disliked due to its genericness and overall boring tone. I am young, 13, and I was almost preparing myself to be disappointed. This film, however, automatically won its way to my top 10 of 2011 list. I was completely blown away Jean Dujardin's performance. He was absolutely outstanding, and it's a shame that people believe George Clooney tops him. He really is a breakout star with his incredible performance in this film. His facial expressions, his movements, he became the character: A greedy, self-obsessed film star who must come to terms with the fact that his career is dying, under the brand new impression of 'talkies'. Meanwhile, Berenice Bejo casts lightning with her profound ability to act out Peppy Miller a 'Peppy' (pun intended) girl who is on her way to becoming a true star. She really does capture the screen in each scene she is in, with both her beauty, and her true emotions that are extracted as time plays out on the screen. The original score- Marvelous. The costume/set design- Incredible. I could go on and on forever about how great this film was, but I will just sum it up in words. The Artist, is a unique, creative piece that provides relief from big-budget action films, bringing long-time film lovers and brand new audiences into the simpler time of the silent film era. Thriving off the performances of Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, The Artist is a one of a kind masterpiece.
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