The Artist Review

Not often I go and see a film the week after it has won numerous Academy awards, including Best Film, Actor and Director. But that is the case with this one.

Needless to say expectations were very high.

Were they met? Sort of.

So, a silent film. In 2012! It did take a bit of getting used to, but after a few minutes you are thoroughly enjoying the dazzling artistry on display.

One quibble would be with the aspect ratio of the film. Basically like watching TV at the cinema. Square image and barely cinematic at all. Was probably intentional, but ideally the point of going to the cinema is to enjoy as widescreen an image as possible.

The lead actors, and the dog were superb! And there were some great "Best Picture" moments that will be shown in montages for years to come. I did enjoy the film but I found the ending a little bit lacking. With the advent of talkies, our lead actor struggles to evolve, until a novel idea to bring him back towards the end.

I was just looking for a bigger payoff, does this new film become a success? We know where the film is going relationally, I just would have liked a scene where we see"Sparkle" rekindle the success George used to have.

There is a lot to love here, the best use of the word, "bang" in all of cinema, the performances, the impressive music, the cinematography and just the guts to make such picture!

So, for me, the best picture of 2011? I'm not sure, I haven't had the chance to see the latest Woody Allen or Moneyball etc. But an enjoyable film none the less, that left me a little bit cold at the end.

4 silences out of 5