This is a plug. Go see "The Artist". That is, if you can find it. As far as I can tell, it's only playing on one screen in the entire Salt Lake valley. Barbara took us to see it this week and we all enjoyed it thoroughly.
(Perhaps the greatest praise is that one of us stayed wide awake during the whole show. Won't say which one of us, but that's a rare occurrence.)
Yes, it's up for several Academy Awards and may even win one or two. But that's not the reason I'm plugging it. It's just a downright clever movie.
Consider: It was made in France, with the two leads big stars over there but unknown here. It is in black and white. It is not wide screen. And it's a silent picture. (Well, mostly). With occasional lines of dialogue shown on the screen, but rarely.
What it proves to me is that most movies made today talk too much, rev up the sound with explosions, car crashes, surging musical scores, etc. Maybe we should go back to the 1920's.
Which is what "The Artist" does, and does so with style and grace.
The story is nothing more than a take off on old Douglas Fairbanks Sr. "Thief of Bagdad" type pictures; almost a direct steal from all three versions of "A Star is Born", and a lot like "Singin' in the Rain." But it works.
From the opening scene of a swashbuckling movie, complete with full --and I mean FULL --orchestra accompaniment, to the last thirty seconds, it held me in its spell.
The use of some sound effects in rare moments is just one of several touches that intrigued me. On screen titles were used sparingly ---evidence that silent movies can really tell the story in pictures. In fact, the use of one title, "BANG" , was far more effective than any sound could have been.
The ending is entirely predictable, but the way they treat it in the last thirty seconds, was, to me, "a joy beyond measure."
Go see it. If you don't like it....I'll feel sorry for you.
