style and subject

The Artist is a contemporary silent film that speaks volumes

Robust orchestrations, pitch-perfect characterization and playful visual storytelling reeled me in as I watched the award-winning film, The Artist, written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius. The silent French film, which contains no spoken dialogue, features a romance between silent film veteran George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and the naive, yet ambitious actress Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), whose career flourishes as talkies take the country and silent films become passé.

The industry doesn’t fair so well for Valentin, however, whose success crumbles as fast as Miller’s star rises.

Although the romantic storyline proved enticing enough, what I found more interesting was how the story unfolded in the well-executed contemporary silent film style.

Ironically, Hazanavicius chose to set his silent film remake in Hollywood as the industry is taking its final bow. This decision creates an interesting dynamic between the film’s style and the film’s subject. What better way to tell the story of the death of silent film than by resurrecting silent film itself?

This film is as much about print journalism, the railroad industry and The Ziegfeld Follies as it is about silent film.

The combination leads to deliciously self-aware moments in the film, like when ex-star Valentin “overhears” Miller in an interview berating old Hollywood and reducing silent film acting to simply “mugging.”

But the acting in The Artist is much more than mugging. Dujardin, Bejo and John Goodman (who plays a stubborn Hollywood exec) all create delightfully large yet realistic characters, who move grandly and gracefully across the screen. Yet, somewhat betraying the style, some of the facial subtleties in these performances are what give the film a real heartbeat, like a close-up on a coy smile.

At first glance, The Artist is a whimsical pastiche, though with a more critical lens one might also see a broader narrative. By following Miller’s rise to fame and Valentin’s simultaneous fall, The Artist explores the tragedy and beauty of evolving crafts and art forms and the careers that are ruined in the fray. In that way, the film is as much about print journalism, the railroad industry and The Ziegfeld Follies as it is about silent film.

The Artist gives voice not only to silent film stars, but all silenced artists. The story might be slow moving for those without an appreciation for the classics, but anybody with a soft-spot for the art of storytelling must make a trip to the theater soon. The nostalgic experience just won’t be as powerful on DVD.

The Artist is currently showing at Landmark River Oaks Theatre, located at 2009 West Gray.

Movie Review

Shaun the Sheep welcomes spooky season with PG-scary new movie

Shaun the Sheep in Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom

Photo courtesy of Aardman / Sky UK LTD / StudioCanal 2026

Shaun the Sheep in Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom.

Since his introduction over 30 years ago, the Aardman Animations character Shaun the Sheep has been almost as popular as the studio’s flagship characters, Wallace and Gromit. There is never a shortage of trouble Shaun can get into as he leads his flock and proves to be a thorn in the side of his farmer and Bitzer, the farmer’s loyal sheepdog.

His antics lead everyone down some slightly spooky roads in the new film, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom. At first, things are only slightly awry as Shaun and the flock are growing a secret pumpkin patch to have their own jack-o-lanterns. But when the farmer accidentally destroys the pumpkin patch, Shaun tries to regrow it quickly with a Frankenstein-esque experiment.

However, disaster looms when Shaun uses an old bottle of Hair-Gro as the container for the serum he creates. Naturally, the balding farmer uses it on his head, and everyone soon discovers how truly successful it is, with pumpkins growing out of control and the farmer sprouting hair all over his body. Through a series of mishaps, the farmer becomes the titular beast, creating mayhem while Shaun and others try to stop him.

Directed by Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, and written by Mark Burton and Giles Pilbrow, the film goes down just as easy as every other Aardman project has. They get the Halloween vibes started from the opening credits, with things like the sheep doing the “Thriller” dance, and continue the fun throughout, referencing everything from Psycho to Friday the 13th in a nice, PG way.

With no script — every character is mute save for reaction noises — the movie relies on sight gags for its humor, and the Aardman team is endlessly inventive in that respect. Sometimes it’s small things like a sheep using toilet paper rolls as binoculars, and sometimes it’s something like forcing the Bigfoot-like farmer to be shaped into a rectangle as he escapes through a window. But there’s a never-ending stream of such moments, so even if one doesn’t tickle your funny bone, chances are the next one will.

The biggest benefit of the characters not talking is that there’s no need for deep character development. The filmmakers do a great job of giving the basic traits of each character, and then use those attributes to color everyone’s actions for the rest of the film. Shaun is the troublemaker, the farmer is a bumbling fool, Bitzer is preternaturally smart, and the town’s vet is empathetic, and the combination of those characters and others makes for a highly entertaining blend.

Like all Aardman creations, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is a fun lark that doesn’t make its audience think too hard. With just enough references to keep viewers engaged but not so many as to be overbearing, the film puts its well-worn characters to good use once again, delivering a Halloween season story that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

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Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is now playing in theaters.

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