The Artist

I managed to drag myself away from playing Skyrim last weekend for just long enough to get to the cinema and see a film that has since had Oscar nominations chucked at it from all angles. 'The Artist' is a film that follows the emergance of sound in cinema in the late 1920s and one silent actor's struggle to cope with the death of his medium. The film is interesting from a contemporary perspective because it is in fact silent (with a couple of exceptions) and in black and white with cards to provide dialogue.

The simple fact that anyone was prepared to finance and produce such a film in the modern age of 3D and lurid effects is in itself worthy of praise. Having seen 'The Artist' I can tell you that this is far from the only thing praise-worthy about it. The story is of George Valentin, a star of silent film who finds himself out of work when his production company - headed by the excellent John Goodman - begins to make only 'talkies'. The company's new star is Peppy Miller (great name for a young starlet btw), who shines from every movie poster and newspaper in Holywood unknowingly mocking Valentin's fall from stardom. It's a simple story of getting left behind by a changing world and the fickle nature of fame, but told in a novel way with comic turns and a lot of love for the medium of film. With tongue in cheek and rose-tinted glasses firmly glued to their noses, the producers of 'The Artist' throw the occasional noise in the mix for good effect and gush adoration for a simpler age.

To any who might be put off because it's a silent movie, put aside your fears and stop worrying. If people in the 1920s could work out what was going on from just the music then I'm sure you can too. If you're in doubt about the power that music has to drive a narrative, then look no further than Buffy the Vampire Slayer to show you how it's done. They did an episode without dialogue as well as one without music - you realise just how much you rely on the score to get your emotional cues for a scene when it's suddenly not there.

I was hugely impressed by 'The Artist', and from what I could gather from the reactions in the Reading Vue most others were too. I wouldn't bet against Holywood awarding its first oscar to a silent movie for 80 years come February.