I have been trying to finish watching this film but cannot get through more than 30 minutes at a time. I think silent movies are not for everyone, certainly not for me. I found the silent music to be annoying. I think the film was well-acted but it did not hold my attention at all. Sad, really, but I may be the problem because it did $133 million in the box office in 2011. Now on to my review.
The film is mostly about George Valentin, played by Jean Durjardin, the king of silent film actors. His world begins to fall apart when speaking film roles start to take over silent film roles. At the same time, his female lead in the silent film industry successfully transitions to the speaking film world. Of course, the two of them develop eventually develop a relationship.
I must say the female actor in this film played by Bérénice Bejo as Peppy Miller, is the standout. Her beauty shines through in this film. I have a feeling if I were a woman I would be mentioning the male lead first, but this is not the case. The male lead, Jean Dujardin as George Valentin, was great as well. The film picks up for me at about the midway point where George Valentin has a breakdown and burns down his house, with his dog saving him.
Eventually, Peppy Miller is able to drag George Valentin out of the depths of his depression and brings him into the speaking film industry. At the end of the film, there’s a scene with the two of them are tap dancing and dancing together, you can hear their feet and it was fantastic. It makes you question why he ever would’ve doubted himself, a man with so much talent. He just needed to adapt and move on. Interestingly this is also the point at which the film turns from a silent film into a speaking film paralleling the transition George Valentin had just made, then the credits roll. The ending of this film, the last 40 minutes brought it home for me and improved my rating from a dislike to a like, and that’s why I’m giving it three stars.
***
