Oscar Said This Movie Was Good: A review of The Artist

Oscar Said This Movie Was Good is a movie review series by Ozarks native Kaitlyn Vaughan. She is not a professional movie critic by any means — and not even really a writer — but wanted to improve her movie buffness by watching all 9 films nominated by the Academy Awards for Best Picture. Then she said she wanted to write about them. We said, “Fine. Whatever.” So, if these reviews suck, it’s not our fault. But, if they’re good, we deserve all the credit.

The Artist was different than any movie I’ve ever seen. Obviously. I think most people can say the same. Pretty sure I’ve only ever seen one black and white movie and I’ve definitely never seen one without sound. I knew this was going to be an experience.

I tried to achieve the full effect with this movie. Instead of going to your run-of-the-mill AMC, I went to a little “artsy” theater to immerse myself in the romance of it all. (I know, it’s corny.) As the movie began, I was mesmerized. The old-time music, the black and white screen, the clicking of the projector; it was the perfect storm. Unfortunately, however, that storm blew over in about 30 minutes.

What is wrong with me? I should have reeeeally liked this movie. It was glamorous, romantic, historical… but it quickly started to all fade away for me and I just got bored.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved all the individual pieces. The main characters were adorable. Heck, all of the characters were adorable. Jean Dujardin as George Valentin and Berenice Bejo as Peppy Miller were perfect. He was handsome and charming and funny, and she was beautiful and determined and spunky. I loved the way they interacted with each other from the very beginning and their chemistry was undeniable. (I mean, they were no Noah and Allie in The Notebook, but they were working it.) George’s butler, Clifton, was even memorable, along with his freakishly well-trained dog. (The only character I did not find charming, however, was John Goodman in the role as the studio owner. I could only think of him as Roseanne Barr’s white-trash husband.)

The era in which the movie was set was delightful. The allure of the late 20’s, early 30’s was something I hadn’t much exposure to and it was lovely to experience. The music was spot on and I dug the fashion. Made me wonder when I’d ever get an excuse to dress like that. (Halloween 2012, check.) The storyline was entertaining, too. It was historical, which I liked. A little over-the-top in places for my taste, but I guess when you can’t speak, the actions have to speak for themselves. I get it.

Unfortunately, though, it didn’t all come together for me. I wanted to buy into it, feel like I was a part of it, but I just couldn’t. Maybe I’m too modernized. Maybe I’m too spoiled on things like color and sound. Maybe I’m too over-stimulated with our everyday noises and distractions, so much so that I don’t know how to react to something else. Whatever the reason, I was bored and checked my watch a couple times. And then before I knew it, all of the things I loved in the beginning started to get annoying. Total bummer.

I am sure there are many other people out there who thoroughly enjoyed this movie. They must have. It was nominated for Best Picture, after all. So whoever made that decision must have stayed out in that perfect storm far longer than I did. At its best, it’s an homage to the way movies used to be. It’s always good to give credit to history and reflect on where an industry came from.

Oscar was (kinda) right. This movie was (almost) good.