If this comes around, be sure to see it. It was between this and the latest installment of Mission Impossible and thank heaven we made this choice. Yes, this is a NEW silent movie, a comedy/drama about a Douglas Fairbanks-like 1920's swashbuckler, George Valentin (played by Jean Dujardin), whose career goes down the toilet when sound comes in. Valentin is far too vain and shallow to adapt and takes to drink. A young, sparkling actress on the upswing, Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), who was given a start by Valentin, tries to help him to return to the business.
This multinational production, which also features John Goodman as a studio mogul and James Cromwell as Valentin's ever-faithful chauffeur, is excellent and completely likable. It also features the best dog character I've seen for a while. I didn't know that I was going to a silent BW film, so I was taken aback, but I really enjoyed it. It really captures that iconic look of the golden age of Hollywood complete with the mythic walled studio complex where there is always a bustle of costumed actors from a dozen different movies walking around and guys moving props in and out of buildings. It's also loaded with quick, witty visual jokes that capture iconic scenes from old Hollywood movies. I like when I am surprised by a movie fan's move like this and wanted to applaud at the end.
