The Artist by: Andrew Marvin

I give the film 3 out of 5 stars. I thought that it was original, had good performances and the cinematography and lighting were top notch. However, I don't feel that the film is as good as Best Picture etc. I feel that it was the gimmick (silent movie concept) that won the award. The film was good, but not that good. I enjoyed the movie within the movie concept as well as it being a film about appreciating film. Where I feel that the silent film concept hurt the film as a whole was simply that it was silent. I feel where it's original, it's also too removed for me. It was a movie that I felt I could put on while doing other things and I still would enjoy and understand the plot. I don't believe that it's the films fault, per say, but merely the advances in movie magic (technology). It was really nice to see so many familiar character actors like John Goodman and James Cromwell.