The Artist** (2011)

If it sounds weird to hear me describe a film as adorable, please know that it feels just as weird for me to make such a proclamation. Yet that is the best word I can come up with to describe this love letter to Hollywood’s silent film era. It has charm, heart, and it stays very true to the qualities and craftsmanship of the films that inspired it.

It’s 1927 in Hollywood and George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is the star of the silent silver screen and helps discover a talented newcomer named Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo). Two years later, Valentin’s studio tells him they are through with silent films. Valentin’s reluctance to convert to talkies (and the stock market crash of 1929) leaves him in professional and financial ruin. While Peppy’s career takes off, George struggles to cope with his new-found has-been status.

Save for a few shots and a handful of well-known supporting characters, The Artist looks like it could have come from the silent film era. That fact alone is a testament to the attention to detail behind this film. Silent films demand attention to detail because there is no sound supplementing or distracting from the visuals. The pacing, the cinematography, and the expressiveness of the cast make this movie a success. It lags at times, but there is so much imagery and sophistication built into the composition of some shots that I found myself giddy with excitement for noticing them.

The duo of Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo are a treat to behold. They’re expressiveness is so true to silent films. With no sound to convey emotion in the voice, actors had to over-emote with their posture, gestures, and facial expressions. In their attempt to replicate what we would now call over-doing it, there was a fine line between nailing the nonverbal communication of silent films and parodying it. The Artist never slips into parody.

Writer-director Michael Hazanavicius chose to fashion his silent movie after the melodramas of the 1920s. This was the right choice because an all-out silent drama would feel too self-important and a full-on comedy wouldn’t seem as special. With a story arc that is far from unique, The Artist is admittedly a success because it is style over substance.

But why make a silent film just for the sake of making a silent film? The filmmakers appreciate the artistry that has been lost for more than 80 years of talkies. Something about silent films speak to them and, as it turns out, they still speak to us too. This is the kind of cheery, nostalgic fare that makes me fall in love with cinema all over again.

RATING: 4 out of 5

Hercules (1997)

At this point I have to wonder if the films in the latter half of the Disney Renaissance are considered as such more for their box office returns than for their artistic achievement. Once again, Disney cranks out a film that does a few things right and gets a few things wrong. The difference between this film and its two immediate traditionally animated predecessors is this: Hercules is pretty fun to watch.

The vile and treacherous Hades discovers a way to release the destructive Titans from their ocean prison and overthrow his brother Zeus. The only hang-up? His nephew Hercules needs to be out of the picture. Hades succeeds in banishing the infant to Earth and reducing him to demigod status but his minions fail to kill him. Years later, Hercules learns that he can join his parents on Mount Olympus if he becomes a true hero. As Hades’ plot draws nearer to fruition, plenty of opportunities arise for the young demigod to reach his full potential.

The highlight of this film is James Woods as Hades. His über-aware personality and self-deprecating sense of humor is a breath of fresh air. He is maniacal and powerful but also approachable. He is not consumed by evil, just bitter and carrying the mother of all chips on his shoulders. It’s usually a bad thing when the bad guy is a movie’s best character, but Hades will certainly make the film easier to sit through for any parents with a sense of humor.

The plot is pretty thin but it was a losing battle from the get-go. The mythological Hercules only featured in a series of short tales displaying his awesomeness. The character development and backstory feels understandably forced. Nice try Disney, but it didn’t work out so well this time. On top of it all, sticklers like myself are sure to get hung up on the many mythological liberties taken throughout.

The animation is inconsistent in quality at several times. For much of the film, the animation looks on par with Disney’s TV cartoon shows of the time- very flat, just about everything in focus, but very little by way of fine detail. Every now and again (mostly in epic battle sequences) Disney’s animators throw a little CGI into the mix. After all these years, they still don’t blend well. Is it nit-picky? Maybe a little bit but animated films are Disney’s bread and butter. You’d think they’d have solved this problem with a little R&D by now.

Hercules lags a bit in places and it’s not very engaging for adults (outside of Hades and the flirtatious, suggestive Megara). For the kids though? There is plenty of colorful action and screwball antics from the supporting cast to keep them entertained. It’s not quite good enough to be middle-of-the-pack Disney, but Hercules rises above many of the near-misses in the Disney Vault.

RATING: 3.25 out of 5

SECOND HELPINGS: Gone with the Wind** (1939)

I am well aware that this film presents a woefully inaccurate depiction of blacks in the antebellum and post-war south. That doesn’t stop me from loving this film and still holding it to be the greatest film I have ever seen. It will take quite a film to knock Gone with the Wind from my top spot.

The scope of this film is incredible. The filmmakers spared no expense to bring this tale to life. It’s a nearly four hour long period piece, in Technicolor, and utilized studio and on-location filming. The cost of production was historic but worth every penny. Some scenes may come across as a little stagey, but the world looks believable thanks to all the immaculate set details.

Some people criticize the writing and characters of this film. I’ll grant them that Butterfly McQueen’s Prissy is more caricature than character, but everyone else in the cast nails their performances and the writing is old school Hollywood at its best. Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh ooze with sex appeal and light up the screen every time they are on it, together or individually. They bring Rhett and Scarlett to life, realizing the characters’ true potential and power.

On their own, neither is particularly likeable. Scarlett is a manipulative little tramp who uses her playful sexuality and beauty to get what she wants. Rhett is an opportunistic scoundrel who thinks he has it all figured out and takes what he wants when it comes down to it. A movie about either character would fail but they somehow form the basis for one of the greatest love stories of all time. These two are just made for each other. They’re beautiful, egotistical, and drive each other mad. It’s so perfect yet unlikely an arrangement that you can’t help but want them to be together.

The film does lag a little bit in the third hour, as Scarlett skanks her way up the societal ladder. This is usually where people trail off on enjoying Gone with the Wind. The first half is exciting, powerful, and has just about everything you could ask for in an epic period piece romance. That third hour is necessary though because it makes the sparks fly even hotter when Rhett comes back into the picture.

Others will complain about the ending but you’ll get no such complaints out of me. Things end badly for Scarlett and Rhett but you know that it is not really the end. Scarlett’s stubbornness got her from destitute to affluent after the war. How could she not end up with Rhett again now that she knows in her heart that they were always meant to be together?

The ending may not tie things up in a nice neat bow, but it doesn’t have to. By the end of the film you know the passion and determination these characters share for each other. You know how this cliffhanger is going to end, which makes Gone with the Wind something special. It leaves you hanging narratively but not emotionally.

Gone with the Wind has sass, attitude, romance, drama, thrills, chills, and laughs. For my money, it is the complete package because it is delivered so smoothly by its leads. This film proved to be one for both the record books and the history books. Who am I to disagree? Since the first time I saw it, this film was, and still is, at the top of my list.

Original Rating: 4.75 out of 5

New Rating: 4.75 out of 5