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

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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