I finally saw The Artist today!

I tried to see it last weekend, but it was completely sold out by the time we got to the ticket office T_T The only showing that wasn’t full when I went to book it online was this morning’s, so I had to just go for it, even though it meant I went myself…

I didn’t particularly enjoy going to the cinema myself, particularly when there was no one else there my age - it was just filled with old people who all seemed to know one another…? Anyway, I ended up sandwiched between 2 older women, which made me feel awkward. I would have preferred a more empty cinema where I could at least sit by myself and not have people near me, lol.

Being unwell and being in a crowded, stuffy room didn’t work too well for me when the film started. Not even halfway through it and I took a fit of coughing. I was wheezing, gasping for air, and choking, whilst a couple of women in the seats in front of me kept turning around and tutting at me. Oh, I’m sorry, is the fact that I can’t breathe right now bothering you? It was embarrassing more than anything because I couldn’t stop coughing :( I felt so stupid. My eyes were pouring from the fact that I just couldn’t get any air into my lungs for coughing/choking, and there was no way out of the cinema to get some air, so I just had to stay put and suffer, and I ended up missing a good 10-minute chunk of the film T_T

Apart from that, the film was absolutely amazing. I’ve seen my fair share of silent films (being a silent film ‘fanatic’ and all~) so it was nothing new as far as that was concerned, but it did live up to my expectations, and even succeeded them. The film really kept in with the times, it didn’t allow you to think for one second that it was a film made in 2011/12. It really felt like an old-fashioned film, and I loved that about it. Also, the original soundtrack was really good. I’m used to rinky-tinky, ragtime piano as the background for silent films, but the orchestrated score along with songs from that time really lifted the film and gave it life. It emphasised certain scenes and made up for the lack of dialogue. I was also pleased to see that inter-title cards weren’t over-used. A lot of silent film re-makes tend to overuse the cards to make up for no dialogue because they think that the cards are meant to convey every. single. bloody. line., which is just plain annoying, so I’m glad that they didn’t overuse them in this film. I also loved the actors they chose for each character, particularly for the 2 lead characters, George Valentin and Peppy Miller. The actors portraying them were perfect together :’)

The only thing that I didn’t like - and it’s very minor - was the use of sound. I know, I know, they obviously did it for effect: The sound used in George’s dream to illustrate his fears of switching to ‘talkies’ was effective, and the way that the music transitioned into full-on diegetic sound at the end was also effective in illustrating George finally settling into the idea of making ‘talkies’ … BUT STILL!! T_T I understand that in the likes of Singin’ in the Rain (which is actually quite similar to The Artist), because of the way it’s set up, it has to have dialogue/diegetic sound. But because The Artist is about silent films and is shot as a silent film, it should be fully silent, no?! I had fears that there would be dialogue/sound in the film somewhere, and that they wouldn’t entirely keep to giving the audience the ‘silent treatment’ because, nowadays, who the hell is interested in a film with no sound? … Apart from me, lol T_T Although, I have to admit, they did approach it in a very subtle, clever way, and that’s why I don’t entirely hate the fact that they put sound in it. But I still don’t like it.

On a more positive note: the camera-work was wonderful (there were a lot of scenes involving mirrors/reflective surfaces that I loved and kept squeeing over in my head), the authentic look and feel of the costumes, make up, newspapers, posters, sets and cars was absolutely spot-on, and George’s little sidekick dog was the REAL star of the show - he was a really original contribution to the whole thing, although certain scenes reminded me of the dog used in early Roscoe Arbuckle/Buster Keaton films. There were quite a lot of references to silent film era directors and actors, which satisfied my inner fangirl. The only scene I can remember is the scene in George’s house, and he has the bed that folds up into a cupboard. It instantly made me think of Snub Pollard’s short film, It’s A Gift, and made me really happy lol.

All-in-all, it was a very, very enjoyable watch. I loved every minute of it (when I wasn’t coughing my lungs up, that is) and I can’t wait to get another chance to see it. If you’re thinking of seeing it and weren’t sure, I’d say go and see it NOW! Even if you’ve never seen a silent film in your life, just go and enjoy it. It’s very much tailored for everyone, so you don’t need to be a silent film fan to be able to understand it or enjoy watching it :)