The Artist, in simple terms, is a masterpiece. A black-and-white silent film paying homage to the silent comedies of the pre-sound Hollywood era, it manages to elate, surprise, and elicit laughter and tears in equal measure. Starring Jean Dujardine as the titular ‘artist’ George Valentin and Berenice Bejo as the peppy Peppy Miller, The Artist charms beyond expectation and leaves one soaring high long after the end credits are over.

George Valentin is a proud and happy actor of the silent movies; his films are incredibly successful and he is stunningly popular. Being naturally flamboyant, he loves lapping up the crowd’s adulation like an insatiable sponge.

Peppy Miller is an exuberant girl who dreams of making it big in Hollywood. She is a well-talented young lady who fears nothing and exudes charm and charisma, akin to George Valentin.

Through some luck on Peppy’s part, she is given a minor role in a Valentin film, and from their first moments together, it becomes quite clear that the two have fallen in love with each other. In a beautifully memorable scene (paying tribute to a film I don’t know), Peppy puts her arm in Valentin’s coat which has been hung in his trailer, and caresses herself with it, and when the latter enters the trailer, the two share a moment together.

Unfortunately for Valentin, times are a-changing and and being a true purveyor of the unspoken, he quite rapidly finds himself going out of work when silent films have been run over and replaced by talkies. Peppy, however has managed to do well, and equally quickly has propelled to stardom.

We then see that Valentin’s pride has taken a massive fall, and even though Peppy tries to help him, sometimes discreetly, sometimes not, he cannot get out of his depression, and it is truly heartbreaking to see how quickly people have forgotten him and his art. In the end however, Peppy’s perseverance wins and they manage to get together and star in a dance movie which is sure to be a commercial success (from the “big boss’ ” point of view).

The Artist is such a brilliant film due to some delightful direction by Michel Hazanivicus who captures each moment so perfectly, with some indelible scenes which seem like moments of magic, for instance, the part where George is wandering the streets penniless and looking at the coat that he once wore with such pride through the window of a pawn shop; the palimpsest nature of the scene is exhilarating indeed!

But most of all the film is what it is because of the two leads whose strong screen presence astounds and elevates, with Dujardin embodying GV in every aspect possible with the charisma and irresistible smile and Bejo likewise jumping into and with her character with such effortlessness with her contagiously energetic enthusiasm and glamour (her sporadic whistles and winks were gorgeously alluring!)

A perfect delight this one.

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