‘The Artist’: Script Review

Written By:  MICHEL HAZANAVICIU

Premise:

A young actor in the 1920’s named George Valentin must deal with the fact that his art is a dying form when the evolution of film in the form of talkies hits the scene. To help him through this transition is a friendship with the poster child for this new age of cinema in a young dancer named Peppy Miller.

Review:

“Silent film, illustrated musically, with some title cards to indicate the dialogues, with actors whose lips move when they speak although we never hear their voices. The images are in black and white, in format 1.33.”

It’s likely I will never read another screenplay beginning with this disclaimer again, but man was everything that came after it magical! As a film student I have gotten the chance to study the “Golden Age” of Hollywood in depth, and this script captures the splendor and the fall from grace of that era beautifully. In the 1920’s films like this were the norm, in 2012 however within a world of remakes and rehashes of films we’ve already seen some of which are not even a decade old a movie the caliber of The Artist has gone back to being fresh, exciting, and original. It will be in my opinion one of those stand alone gems that are not duplicated in any way, and that makes the film lover in me jump for joy.

The story centers around a silent film actor George Valentin, the huge star of his day and a man who basks in the respect and the admiration that his fame brings him. But his characterization is as such that he has managed to keep himself humbled in a way even though he enjoys his larger than life persona, he comes across as a truly generous man. In the first few pages a small side character in the form of one Valentin’s co-stars in his latest film (of which their at the premiere for) represents the actors of the age that resent the idea of the spotlight not being centered on them, thankfully they got that cliched plot point out of the way quick in a pretty glorious fashion.

That same night Valentin experiences a brief chance encounter with a young female fan, the way the script is written you can feel the sparks between the two immediately, as it is in the world of celebrities this encounter is documented and put in the paper the next morning (much to the dismay of Valentin’s wife). It is revealed the next day that adoring fan is an aspiring actress named Peppy Miller. Through her dancing skills she lands a small role in a film that good ol’ George happens to be starring in. Convenient, eh? But go with it. What follows is one of the most memorable scenes of the script in which George and Peppy reunite through a series of tap dancing maneuvers while Peppy’s upper body is hidden by a scene background. I’ll get it out of the way now and say that if I go by the script, the romance between George and Peppy is one of the best on screen romances to come along in years, and it’s done so without the need for the corny lines we see in a lot of romance films these days.

We then go through several time lapses that cover the breakdown of Valentin’s already unhappy marriage, and the phasing out of the art of silent film’s in favor of a new breakthrough called “talkies”. George is pushed aside for this new invention, being categorized as a silent film actor by a producer buddy Zimmer, it’s time for Valentin to move aside. A decent amount of time is given to show the passing of time in which talkies are all the rage, backed up by the breakthrough actress of the time..that’s right you guessed it Peppy Miller. This is contrasted with Valentin trying to desperately to keep silent films alive, to no avail. Audiences have moved on. There are several montage sequences that depict the passing of time that could easily get stale, but the images presented are so enthralling that I couldn’t stop reading. It was heartbreaking to imagine what this actor was going through, he not only depicted himself as an actor but his character was a metaphor for the tragedy of the fall of the whole age. You feel for him more because he is genuinely happy for the success of the woman who stole his heart, and you don’t hate Peppy for it because despite all her success she returns that affection for him ten fold.

Halfway through the script I knew where the story was heading, it features a dream sequence in which George hears strange ‘noises’ from objects and people that he can’t pinpoint. From there it’s breakdownsville emotionally and financially. But this one of those stories where the predictability doesn’t take you out of the proceedings one bit, along the way George is given characters that help him through his struggle including his trusty canine Jack (who he shares a very moving relationship with throughout) and his chauffeur Clifton. Both of whom give us memorable scenes, one of which involving the dog and cop and Clifton refusing to leave his bosses side throughout his ordeal. Great stuff.

I’m rambling. All in all this screenplay was an amazing read going back to the days of a film relying completely on images to convey its stories, a method that for years filmmakers and actors alike thought that was a method that should never have faded out. It was a love letter to an amazing age of cinema that I personally love and to this day can’t get enough of. Memorable characters, and memorable moments make this an instant classic when I haven’t even seen the produced product yet. That’s power. Well done Mr. Hazanavicius.

Verdict:

A definite PASS. But the numerous awards nominations should give you an idea that you do not need me to tell you that.

Read ‘The Artist’ Screenplay here!!