The Artist (2011)

Artwork for French Theatrical Release

The Artist (2011) was well done and refreshing, but I have yet to resolve whether it was the best film of 2011.  I guess it might have to do with how close to the Oscars this film was released, either way it's puzzling.

I loved the film, even if I felt that the beginning of the film was a bit too slow even in introducing archetypes, which most of the characters really are, and it's here really there that the former argument is its strongest.  If most of the characters are archetypes, the unknown ingenue hitting it big, the big star staunchly refusing to change, the materialistic trophy wife, the forward thinking studio owner, then where does this film draw it's depth?

That too is puzzling.

The cinematography is proper, even if some of the shots are too flat. 

The sound design is sparse, but pristinely executed. 

And the acting is spot on, always drawing you into the drama, never away.  You recognize all the faces, yes; but that quickly fades away, and all you see if the character's face, never the actors.

The music is spot on and moving in its simplicity and complexity.  And although the story itself is neither new nor inventively treated, the package as a whole makes up for it.

Buy it on Blu-ray and promptly place it next to your copy of American Beauty (1999), I fear in a couple of years this film will be part of the perennial arguments about Best Picture Oscars and their worthiness.