It is interesting to note that out of the nine movies up for Best Picture, two pay loving homage to the Golden Age of film making. First is Hugo and the other is The Artist.

The Artist has to be one of the most original movies I have seen in a long time. The basic premise of film is it is about silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) who soon sees his fame fade as talkies become popular. At the same time we see the rise of Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), who at first has a bit part in one of George’s silent films but then becomes a star of talkie films.

Director Michel Hazanavicius relies on the body language and facial expressions of his actors to convey the emotions of the story as well as the score by Ludovic Bource because the film is mostly silent (and also in black and white). One complaint that I did have is the lack of interstitial cards that convey some of the dialogue in the film and was common in the silent film era. It would have helped me understand somethings that were going on.

But the true star of the film is Dujardin as George. He not only has the matinee idol looks and he came off charming. He also acted George’s downfall and despair really well as his star faded.

However, I felt that Bejo’s Peppy came off as an obsessed fan/stalker of George’s but she did play the ingenue well.

But Bejo and Dujardin did have a nice chemistry together despite the stalker tendency. Another star of the film is the Jack Russell Uggie that played George’s dog, he was so cute in all the scenes he was in.

While the film is mostly silent and aside from the score, there are a few moments of sound that I didn’t expect and thought it was a pleasant surprise.

After seeing this film, I would have seen 6 out of 9 Best Picture nominees and I think I can safely say that I think this film will win on Oscar night because it is so original and Dujardin will win Best Actor because what he does here is way more difficult than what George Clooney did in The Descendants. He has to convey all the emotions that George goes through from joy to despair all with his body and face and without uttering a single word. That is what makes The Artist a truly remarkable film.