Abra Dunsby-Sircana heads to a true classic...
It’s arguably the world’s favourite movie musical. Iconic and euphoric, the 1952 MGM smash hit Singin’ in the Rain is famed for its title scene in which, infantilised by love, Gene Kelly dances and sploshes mischievously on puddle-strewn streets. Creating a similar impact for the West End stage was never going to be easy, as proved by the lukewarm reception following the London Palladium’s 1983 adaptation. However, following a critically-acclaimed run at Chichester Festival, Jonathan Church’s current revival at the Palace Theatre definitely makes the right sort of splash.
The action takes place in pre-depression Hollywood, as the rise of the ‘talkie’ deals a hammer blow to silent film. Movie star Don Lockwood has it all; success, good looks and a studio-contrived romance with his beautiful co-star, Lina Lamont. But with the release of ‘talkie’ The Jazz Singer, and following a brief encounter with a talented new kid on the block, Lockwood’s life is about to change.
Church’s adaptation is faithful enough to the original to keep the swarms of die-hard fans happy in their seats. However, Andrew Wright and Simon Higlett shake things up – Wright with gloriously enthralling choreography, and Higlett with a dazzling set. There are some sterling performances; Cooper is spot-on as likeable cheeky-chappy Lockwood, Daniel Crossley’s Cosmo Brown delivers an effortlessly funny rendition of ‘Make ‘Em Laugh’, and Jennifer Ellison is gratingly squeaky as dimwit diva, Lina Lamont. Although there is a lack of chemistry between Lockwood and Kathy, derived from an absence of acting aplomb from Scarlett Strallen, she more than makes up for it in her musical numbers and sparkles when she sings.
Church’s Singin' in the Rain’ is an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza that is flecked with nostalgia for the innocence of a bygone age. Yet it is the visually wondrous staging of the title number that truly steals the show. As the rain spills onto the stage and a gleeful Cooper splashes majestically to the soaring sounds of the orchestra, even the most cynical members of the audience will find themselves shivering with pure delight.
http://www.singinintherain.co.uk/home/
Thank you to Superbreak, who offer theatre and hotel packages for shows across London.
Hotel and theatre ticket packages start from £62 per person.
http://www.superbreak.com/ 0871 700 4384
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2012
At the end of its run, Olivia Nairn checks out the entries for the annual portrait prize
Though small, the excellent Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition always promises to delight with its selection of portraits, taken by both amateurs and professionals. Some are staged portraits of famous celebrities, while others capture seemingly anonymous individuals transformed into key subject matters by the photographer’s lens. From over 5,000 entries, 60 have been selected by the judging panel for display in the National Portrait Gallery.
Of particular note were the portraits of Victoria Pendleton and Mo Farah, paying homage to the success of Team GB in last year’s Olympics. Pendleton’s steely blue-eyed gaze focuses on something outside the photograph’s realm, revealing her determination and the absolute self-application that comes with winning a gold medal. Farah on the other hand, looks straight down the lens, and his emergence from the dark background could almost be compared with the moment in which he surges forward past the other competitors on the track, pushing for the promise of the finishing line.
Making the most of a visit to the NPG, I decided to take a look at the new portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge, painted by Paul Esley. While the painting has divided critical opinion, I found that Emsley had successfully captured the Duchess between her public and private personas: the formality of a commissioned portrait mildly dispelled by her half-smile, an unusual expression for such an occasion. It is also undoubtedly a beautiful and flattering portrait, in spite of what others may say!
http://www.npg.org.uk/
Though small, the excellent Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition always promises to delight with its selection of portraits, taken by both amateurs and professionals. Some are staged portraits of famous celebrities, while others capture seemingly anonymous individuals transformed into key subject matters by the photographer’s lens. From over 5,000 entries, 60 have been selected by the judging panel for display in the National Portrait Gallery.
Of particular note were the portraits of Victoria Pendleton and Mo Farah, paying homage to the success of Team GB in last year’s Olympics. Pendleton’s steely blue-eyed gaze focuses on something outside the photograph’s realm, revealing her determination and the absolute self-application that comes with winning a gold medal. Farah on the other hand, looks straight down the lens, and his emergence from the dark background could almost be compared with the moment in which he surges forward past the other competitors on the track, pushing for the promise of the finishing line.
The winning portrait was good, but I felt perhaps more so for the story behind it rather than the image itself. Spanish-born photographer Jordi Ruiz Cirera’s portrait is of Margarita Teichroeb, described as Mennonite from the Swift Current Colony in Bolivia, whose society does not permit direct photographic portraits. Teichroeb’s unease is clearly visible (although the photographer retains that they were both enjoying the shoot), and the intrusiveness of the lens and ultimately the viewer’s eye seems to pierce right through the image.
Making the most of a visit to the NPG, I decided to take a look at the new portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge, painted by Paul Esley. While the painting has divided critical opinion, I found that Emsley had successfully captured the Duchess between her public and private personas: the formality of a commissioned portrait mildly dispelled by her half-smile, an unusual expression for such an occasion. It is also undoubtedly a beautiful and flattering portrait, in spite of what others may say!
http://www.npg.org.uk/
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Exhibition of the Month
FEBRUARY: Manet: Portraying Life
Olivia Nairn joins the crowds at the Royal Academy- but is the hype worth it?
From history of art classes school, my enduring memories of Edouard Manet (1832-1883) are this: first, that his particular style and choice of subject matter renders him considered as the key transitional painter between the 19th century movements of Realism and Impressionism; and second, that several of his works were considered quite a departure from previous norms and provoked much divided opinion. Indeed, this has been beautifully summarised, as ever, by the faithful Wikipedia. But what the RA’s latest show Manet: Portraying Life attempts to reveal is a little bit more behind this painter: his upbringing, his family, his wife (whose illegitimate child may or may not have been Manet’s half-brother or nephew), his models and the social circles that he moved in, as well as the developments in his artistic career.
In a selection of almost 60 works, the exhibition is large- not to mention the cavernous size of the galleries that the paintings hang in. While the omission of some of his post famous pieces (Olympia, Bar at the Folies-Bergère) is quite clear, the delightful Music in the Tuileries Garden is given pride of place in a room on its own (despite this painting having only made the journey from the National Gallery) and the Courtauld Gallery’s version of Le déjeuner sur l'herbe also makes a crucial appearance. A whole room is also given over to Manet’s Paris, including maps of the city and a detailed analysis of Manet’s life, year by year.
I particularly enjoyed the rooms of paintings of Manet’s family and friends. The paintings of his family include several images of his wife, Suzanne Leenhoff (Madame Manet) and her son, Léon. Mme Manet has an almost sombre appearance in her portraits; this can be directly contrasted with Manet’s treatment of Berthe Morisot (a famous Impressionist painter in her own right), who was his muse for several years. It is Morisot whose arresting gaze captures our attention in the RA exhibition poster, seen below.
Despite the ample choice of priced guidebooks available, I felt that the curating of the exhibition didn't entirely flow from room to room, and whilst information was provided, reading I have done since (I enjoyed the review by Brian Sewell at the Evening Standard) has further enlightened me on Manet's life.
I would urge the visitor to attend at non-peak times, read a brief history of Manet's life and key personal relationships beforehand, and in the exhibition, to look closely at the works to observe Manet's observation and brush skills. The volume of work in itself it a tribute to a master painter, and also to the RA in assembling such a collection. Interestingly, I ought to give credit to the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio for its role in co-creating this exhibition, a fact that many other writers failed to draw attention to!
Manet: Portraying Life is on at the Royal Academy until 14th April
http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/manet/
Olivia Nairn joins the crowds at the Royal Academy- but is the hype worth it?
From history of art classes school, my enduring memories of Edouard Manet (1832-1883) are this: first, that his particular style and choice of subject matter renders him considered as the key transitional painter between the 19th century movements of Realism and Impressionism; and second, that several of his works were considered quite a departure from previous norms and provoked much divided opinion. Indeed, this has been beautifully summarised, as ever, by the faithful Wikipedia. But what the RA’s latest show Manet: Portraying Life attempts to reveal is a little bit more behind this painter: his upbringing, his family, his wife (whose illegitimate child may or may not have been Manet’s half-brother or nephew), his models and the social circles that he moved in, as well as the developments in his artistic career.
In a selection of almost 60 works, the exhibition is large- not to mention the cavernous size of the galleries that the paintings hang in. While the omission of some of his post famous pieces (Olympia, Bar at the Folies-Bergère) is quite clear, the delightful Music in the Tuileries Garden is given pride of place in a room on its own (despite this painting having only made the journey from the National Gallery) and the Courtauld Gallery’s version of Le déjeuner sur l'herbe also makes a crucial appearance. A whole room is also given over to Manet’s Paris, including maps of the city and a detailed analysis of Manet’s life, year by year.
I particularly enjoyed the rooms of paintings of Manet’s family and friends. The paintings of his family include several images of his wife, Suzanne Leenhoff (Madame Manet) and her son, Léon. Mme Manet has an almost sombre appearance in her portraits; this can be directly contrasted with Manet’s treatment of Berthe Morisot (a famous Impressionist painter in her own right), who was his muse for several years. It is Morisot whose arresting gaze captures our attention in the RA exhibition poster, seen below.
Despite the ample choice of priced guidebooks available, I felt that the curating of the exhibition didn't entirely flow from room to room, and whilst information was provided, reading I have done since (I enjoyed the review by Brian Sewell at the Evening Standard) has further enlightened me on Manet's life.
I would urge the visitor to attend at non-peak times, read a brief history of Manet's life and key personal relationships beforehand, and in the exhibition, to look closely at the works to observe Manet's observation and brush skills. The volume of work in itself it a tribute to a master painter, and also to the RA in assembling such a collection. Interestingly, I ought to give credit to the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio for its role in co-creating this exhibition, a fact that many other writers failed to draw attention to!
Manet: Portraying Life is on at the Royal Academy until 14th April
http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/manet/
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Competition time! Your chance to create a design for the new film Stoker
Creatures of Culture is pleased to announce our collaboration with a competition hosted by Fox Searchlight and Curzon Cinemas, and we are asking our readers to get creative and design a piece of artwork that captures some of the themes behind the new film Stoker, starring Nicole Kidman and to be released in cinemas on 1st March 2013. Take a look at the trailer of this dark film here for some inspiration...
If your design is chosen, you and four others will receive £500 cash, credit on the Curzon's postcards, feature on the cinema's online channels and receive your own large-scale print of your design. Every participant in the competition will also have their work displayed in an online digital gallery, so this is a great chance for aspiring artists to put some work out for recognition.
With ten days left of this competition, CofC encourages you all to get drawing!
See this link for more information on how to enter: http://tlnt.at/145fgxt
Competition ends 3rd February 2013.
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Les Misérables
Olivia Nairn is pleasantly surprised at the latest musical film, despite its impressive running time (158 mins)
I must make it clear that I am not a big fan of musical films, nor of Les Misérables in particular. However, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see the new film version, taken in by the trailer and impressive cast list, and directed by Tom Hooper. The film is a close adaptation of the West End and Broadway musicals, which are themselves based on Victor Hugo’s eponymous novel of 1862. It must also be said, that unlike other musical films where the music stops from time to time and we hear plain dialogue, this film really took musical at its word and all scenes were mainly sung throughout.
I was wholly impressed with the singing voices of all the main characters. Russell Crowe in his role as Javert was very convincing, and evidently loved the power and position of the French inspector who makes it his life’s mission to hunt down former prisoner Jean Valjean (a very beardy Hugh Jackman). The opening scene of the film is a dramatic encounter between these characters, set against the hard manual labour which manacled convicts were forced to do. We later discover that Valjean’s small crime of stealing a loaf of bread plus several escape attempts has led to his imprisonment for nineteen years, under the intense eye and rules of Javert.
The plot of the story is certainly not light and I won’t spoil it for those yet to see the film, but there are many deaths, and the poverty and misery of the poor in early 19th century France is made brutally clear, as well as the political unrest. However, through this background shines Valjean’s compassion and pity of Javert, his kindess towards the girl Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), daughter of Fantine (Anne Hathaway), and in the third part, his bravery to save Marius Pontmercy (Eddie Redmayne), whom Cosette loves.
A mention must go to Hathaway’s brilliant performance as Fantine. A poor yet respectable factory worker, cast out on the streets following her co-workers’ discovery of her daughter (born out of wedlock), Fantine takes to selling her hair, her teeth, and prostitution in order to pay for the care of Cosette. She performs the classic ‘I dreamed a dream’, which most definitely moved even a cinematic audience. Another superb performance was by Samantha Barks, who placed third in the British TV show searching for an actress to play Nancy in the stage musical Oliver!. Barks makes her film debut as Éponine, the daughter of the Thénardiers (a hilarious Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen), the couple who are entrusted by Fantine to care for Cosette. Éponine is the favoured daughter in childhood, but as she grows up she suffers poverty, mistreatment, unrequited love (from Marius Pontmercy) and ultimately an untimely death in taking a bullet for Pontmercy.
This review is but half of what could be said about the film. I would recommend it as an enjoyable experience, but, for me, it does fall someway short of being a must-see.
Les Misérables is out in cinemas nationwide now
www.lesmiserablesfilm.com/
I must make it clear that I am not a big fan of musical films, nor of Les Misérables in particular. However, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see the new film version, taken in by the trailer and impressive cast list, and directed by Tom Hooper. The film is a close adaptation of the West End and Broadway musicals, which are themselves based on Victor Hugo’s eponymous novel of 1862. It must also be said, that unlike other musical films where the music stops from time to time and we hear plain dialogue, this film really took musical at its word and all scenes were mainly sung throughout.
I was wholly impressed with the singing voices of all the main characters. Russell Crowe in his role as Javert was very convincing, and evidently loved the power and position of the French inspector who makes it his life’s mission to hunt down former prisoner Jean Valjean (a very beardy Hugh Jackman). The opening scene of the film is a dramatic encounter between these characters, set against the hard manual labour which manacled convicts were forced to do. We later discover that Valjean’s small crime of stealing a loaf of bread plus several escape attempts has led to his imprisonment for nineteen years, under the intense eye and rules of Javert.
The plot of the story is certainly not light and I won’t spoil it for those yet to see the film, but there are many deaths, and the poverty and misery of the poor in early 19th century France is made brutally clear, as well as the political unrest. However, through this background shines Valjean’s compassion and pity of Javert, his kindess towards the girl Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), daughter of Fantine (Anne Hathaway), and in the third part, his bravery to save Marius Pontmercy (Eddie Redmayne), whom Cosette loves.
A mention must go to Hathaway’s brilliant performance as Fantine. A poor yet respectable factory worker, cast out on the streets following her co-workers’ discovery of her daughter (born out of wedlock), Fantine takes to selling her hair, her teeth, and prostitution in order to pay for the care of Cosette. She performs the classic ‘I dreamed a dream’, which most definitely moved even a cinematic audience. Another superb performance was by Samantha Barks, who placed third in the British TV show searching for an actress to play Nancy in the stage musical Oliver!. Barks makes her film debut as Éponine, the daughter of the Thénardiers (a hilarious Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen), the couple who are entrusted by Fantine to care for Cosette. Éponine is the favoured daughter in childhood, but as she grows up she suffers poverty, mistreatment, unrequited love (from Marius Pontmercy) and ultimately an untimely death in taking a bullet for Pontmercy.
This review is but half of what could be said about the film. I would recommend it as an enjoyable experience, but, for me, it does fall someway short of being a must-see.
Les Misérables is out in cinemas nationwide now
www.lesmiserablesfilm.com/
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
William Klein + Daido Moriyama
Olivia Nairn visits the double exhibition of works by America-born photographer William Klein and Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama at Tate Modern
In a recent trip to Tate Modern, I was able to take in both the latest exhibition, A Bigger Splash: Painting after Performance, and William Klein + Daido Moriyama. I was very disappointed in A Bigger Splash, and despite its strong opening, featuring the eponymous 1967 painting by Hockney and Jackson Pollock’s great work Summertime: Number 9A (1948), it ultimately lacked cohesion and a sense of direction through performance art post-1960s. However, William Klein + Daido Moriyama offered a welcome break in both the flow of the exhibition linking these two photographers, and in the range and depth of material displayed.
Entering first into the domain of William Klein, a wall of images greets the viewer alongside a film, showing how Klein’s skills spanned photography, documentary-making and graphic design, to name a few. Klein was born in New York in 1928, and he pays great homage to the city in images when working as a fashion photographer, and also in photos capturing passers-by and casual street scenes. The culmination of his focus on New York remains in the 1956 photobook Life is Good and Good for You in New York: Trance Witness Revels (a mixed-up phrasing of ‘Chance Witness Reveals’. It was a delight to peruse these photos of New York from another period, yet still offering recognisable sights and city traits. His photos of other cities, including Rome and Tokyo, also offer an interesting portrait on metropolitan life in different countries. The exhibition returns to Klein’s success in other mediums, including painting and film, before the viewer crosses continents and becomes a part of Tokyo, through the lens of Daido Moriyama.
Moriyama (born Osaka, 1938) was exposed to the work of William Klein, and echoes of Klein are clearly apparent in Moriyama’s photobook of Tokyo in 1968, named Japan: A Photo Theatre. His black and white images are very engaging, and similar features of city life are apparent, even between the two very different locations of New York and Tokyo. I particularly enjoyed Moriyama’s photographs of passengers waiting in train stations in the PLATFORM 1977 series. These groups of strangers are captured in a group image that perfectly comes together as one, despite the anonymity of the scene. Moving beyond a traditional lens, Moriyama also made use of the Polaroid phenomenon in Polaroid/Polaroid 1997. A room is covered in Polaroid snaps that come together to form an amalgamated image that is best viewed from slightly further away. The image looks almost right, but isn’t quite as each Polaroid photograph cannot quite line up with the surrounding ones.
Overall, this was an expertly executed exhibition guiding viewers through different cities, preoccupations and the techniques of two superb photographers.
William Klein + Daido Moriyama is on at Tate Modern until 20th January 2013
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/william-klein-daido-moriyama
Entering first into the domain of William Klein, a wall of images greets the viewer alongside a film, showing how Klein’s skills spanned photography, documentary-making and graphic design, to name a few. Klein was born in New York in 1928, and he pays great homage to the city in images when working as a fashion photographer, and also in photos capturing passers-by and casual street scenes. The culmination of his focus on New York remains in the 1956 photobook Life is Good and Good for You in New York: Trance Witness Revels (a mixed-up phrasing of ‘Chance Witness Reveals’. It was a delight to peruse these photos of New York from another period, yet still offering recognisable sights and city traits. His photos of other cities, including Rome and Tokyo, also offer an interesting portrait on metropolitan life in different countries. The exhibition returns to Klein’s success in other mediums, including painting and film, before the viewer crosses continents and becomes a part of Tokyo, through the lens of Daido Moriyama.
Moriyama (born Osaka, 1938) was exposed to the work of William Klein, and echoes of Klein are clearly apparent in Moriyama’s photobook of Tokyo in 1968, named Japan: A Photo Theatre. His black and white images are very engaging, and similar features of city life are apparent, even between the two very different locations of New York and Tokyo. I particularly enjoyed Moriyama’s photographs of passengers waiting in train stations in the PLATFORM 1977 series. These groups of strangers are captured in a group image that perfectly comes together as one, despite the anonymity of the scene. Moving beyond a traditional lens, Moriyama also made use of the Polaroid phenomenon in Polaroid/Polaroid 1997. A room is covered in Polaroid snaps that come together to form an amalgamated image that is best viewed from slightly further away. The image looks almost right, but isn’t quite as each Polaroid photograph cannot quite line up with the surrounding ones.
Overall, this was an expertly executed exhibition guiding viewers through different cities, preoccupations and the techniques of two superb photographers.
William Klein + Daido Moriyama is on at Tate Modern until 20th January 2013
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/william-klein-daido-moriyama
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
The Turner Prize 2012
Creatures of Culture review this year’s entries for the Turner Prize
Milly Blair
I cannot begin to explain the disappointment I had in viewing the current finalists for the Turner Prize at the Tate Britain. But, as this is becoming an all too familiar tale, I am not going to comment on that any further. Instead, I thought I’d use this opportunity to comment on the one artist who has earned his bread in being there. Paul Noble’s drawings are delicate, intricate and highly skilled images which take you into another world. The geometric patterns and interlacing layers of his pencil drawings reminded me of M.C. Escher but the landscapes that he creates with their minutiae and surreal detail were more like Dali. Noble creates scenes that represent a future otherworld, with narratives that are intriguing, familiar and humorous. It’s no surprise to me that he is the bookies’ favourite to win.
Olivia Nairn
Like Milly, I was also disappointed in the entries for the Turner Prize this year. While I did enjoy Paul Noble’s drawings, for me the artist that should be the clear winner is Elizabeth Price, with her video piece The Woolworths Choir of 1979 (2012).
This clever montage of found images and recordings combines historic footage from a fire in the Manchester branch of Woolworths in 1979, including scenes of the fire and interviews with survivors and eye-witnesses, with close-up images and explanations of the architecture of a choir stall in a Gothic church. All of these changing scenes are narrated as if in a silent film, with words coming up on the screen and set to music, and loud interrupting claps and bangs. The overall effect is almost lyrical, and the repetitions of words and scenes are revisited much like a bridge or chorus in a song. Price has really created something unique and new from old and dated sources, in a very watchable way- this alone made her piece stand out from some of the others, which, in my opinion, have simply tried to hard to be different and push the boundaries of modern art. As for the installation and performances pieces by Spartacus Chetwynd, and the photographs and video by Luke Fowler exploring the life and motives of Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing, there was really no comparison with the work of Price.
A snippet of the works on show, courtesy of www.artlyst.com can be seen below:
Time to make up your own mind? The Turner Prize 2012 is on at Tate Britain until 6th January 2013
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/turner-prize-2012
Milly Blair
I cannot begin to explain the disappointment I had in viewing the current finalists for the Turner Prize at the Tate Britain. But, as this is becoming an all too familiar tale, I am not going to comment on that any further. Instead, I thought I’d use this opportunity to comment on the one artist who has earned his bread in being there. Paul Noble’s drawings are delicate, intricate and highly skilled images which take you into another world. The geometric patterns and interlacing layers of his pencil drawings reminded me of M.C. Escher but the landscapes that he creates with their minutiae and surreal detail were more like Dali. Noble creates scenes that represent a future otherworld, with narratives that are intriguing, familiar and humorous. It’s no surprise to me that he is the bookies’ favourite to win.
Olivia Nairn
Like Milly, I was also disappointed in the entries for the Turner Prize this year. While I did enjoy Paul Noble’s drawings, for me the artist that should be the clear winner is Elizabeth Price, with her video piece The Woolworths Choir of 1979 (2012).
This clever montage of found images and recordings combines historic footage from a fire in the Manchester branch of Woolworths in 1979, including scenes of the fire and interviews with survivors and eye-witnesses, with close-up images and explanations of the architecture of a choir stall in a Gothic church. All of these changing scenes are narrated as if in a silent film, with words coming up on the screen and set to music, and loud interrupting claps and bangs. The overall effect is almost lyrical, and the repetitions of words and scenes are revisited much like a bridge or chorus in a song. Price has really created something unique and new from old and dated sources, in a very watchable way- this alone made her piece stand out from some of the others, which, in my opinion, have simply tried to hard to be different and push the boundaries of modern art. As for the installation and performances pieces by Spartacus Chetwynd, and the photographs and video by Luke Fowler exploring the life and motives of Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing, there was really no comparison with the work of Price.
A snippet of the works on show, courtesy of www.artlyst.com can be seen below:
Time to make up your own mind? The Turner Prize 2012 is on at Tate Britain until 6th January 2013
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/turner-prize-2012
Monday, 29 October 2012
The Artist
Abra Dunsby-Sircana delights in her discovery that they still do make ‘em like they used to
I tend to regard Oscar-winning films with suspicion, ever since the organisation declared the abysmal Shakespeare in Love to be the must-see film of 1998. However, I must begrudgingly admit that this year, they got it absolutely right. Set in 1927 and moving into the era of the Great Depression, the themes of poverty and failing livelihoods within The Artist are very much current issues in today’s new Depression age and have arguably played a part in the film’s unprecedented success. French director Michel Hazanavicius’s film also succeeds in its refreshing tone of innocence, which looks back with tender nostalgia to a golden epoch of cinema, where entertainment was quintessentially a family affair. Hazanavicius is a true film lover and The Artist is his ode to cinema. Backward-looking in its celebration of a cinematic past, the film is littered with cultural references to classic films such as Singing in the Rain and Sunset Boulevard. Yet the movie satisfies a far wider audience than film geeks alone, and the director’s use of humour and a romantic denouement appeals to the vast majority who are less concerned with the director’s love of pastiche and are simply seeking a great story instead.
Jean Dujardin plays George Valentin, an old and established silent movie star whose narcissism and pride threaten to destroy him. The film’s beginning reveals George Valentin’s stubborn view towards the cinematic progress of the "talkies"- his latest film, A Russian Affair, opens with Valentin being exposed to torture, yet still he declares ‘I will not talk’. His refusal to talk not only facilitates the decline of George’s acting career, but it also contributes to the end of his marriage, which is unable to survive the unbearable silence.
On the other side of the spectrum, the aspiring actress Peppy Miller embodies all that is fresh and new in the world. Whilst Peppy chooses to embrace the modernity of sound in cinema and subsequently becomes a success, Valentin rejects the technology as a passing fad and is forced to face the fickle consequences of Hollywood fame. The terror with which Valentin views the advancing of the future is also represented in his nightmare scene, where George hears objects around him making noises whilst he remains silent and metaphorically incapable of speaking.
At its heart The Artist is an unashamed love story, yet the happy ending is not achieved without a good helping of suffering along the way. Hazanavicius warns his audience about the dangers of jealousy and male pride; attributes in George which pose a great threat to the happiness of Peppy and himself as a couple. Peppy’s chance meeting with Valentin at the start of the film proves greatly instrumental to the two of them; Valentin acts selflessly for the first time in order to help the beautiful and talented Miller onto the path of fame, only to feel the shame of his career’s decline as she hits the big time. In their emblematic meeting on a staircase of a Hollywood studio some months later, as Miller ascends into the Hollywood A-list, Valentin spirals down into a spirit of rejection, feeling forgotten by her and by his fans.
Yet in reality, George is very much in the forefront of Peppy’s mind. The beauty spot that Valentin tenderly paints on Miller during their first meeting - and which Hazanavicius chooses to name Peppy’s first breakthrough Hollywood film - becomes a physical symbol for the indelible mark that Valentin has left on her, despite his enforced absence from her life. Several times Valentin’s closest and most loyal friends struggle to help him out of his depression, yet it is only in the closing scenes of the film when the entire story verges on absolute despondency that Valentin finally and graciously swallows his pride, accepting help from those who love him.
Thankfully, The Artist succeeds where it could have epically failed; as a black and white, largely silent homage to a bygone era of cinema, the film’s greatest achievement is to enforce a relevant, current message. Just as we must be grateful to our forefathers for shaping our present, we must look to the future to avoid our achievements becoming relics of memory. Hazanavicius’s conclusion is so potent and so positive that it is hard not to smile; the future might be uncertain, but embrace it and you might just make it.
I tend to regard Oscar-winning films with suspicion, ever since the organisation declared the abysmal Shakespeare in Love to be the must-see film of 1998. However, I must begrudgingly admit that this year, they got it absolutely right. Set in 1927 and moving into the era of the Great Depression, the themes of poverty and failing livelihoods within The Artist are very much current issues in today’s new Depression age and have arguably played a part in the film’s unprecedented success. French director Michel Hazanavicius’s film also succeeds in its refreshing tone of innocence, which looks back with tender nostalgia to a golden epoch of cinema, where entertainment was quintessentially a family affair. Hazanavicius is a true film lover and The Artist is his ode to cinema. Backward-looking in its celebration of a cinematic past, the film is littered with cultural references to classic films such as Singing in the Rain and Sunset Boulevard. Yet the movie satisfies a far wider audience than film geeks alone, and the director’s use of humour and a romantic denouement appeals to the vast majority who are less concerned with the director’s love of pastiche and are simply seeking a great story instead.
Jean Dujardin plays George Valentin, an old and established silent movie star whose narcissism and pride threaten to destroy him. The film’s beginning reveals George Valentin’s stubborn view towards the cinematic progress of the "talkies"- his latest film, A Russian Affair, opens with Valentin being exposed to torture, yet still he declares ‘I will not talk’. His refusal to talk not only facilitates the decline of George’s acting career, but it also contributes to the end of his marriage, which is unable to survive the unbearable silence.
On the other side of the spectrum, the aspiring actress Peppy Miller embodies all that is fresh and new in the world. Whilst Peppy chooses to embrace the modernity of sound in cinema and subsequently becomes a success, Valentin rejects the technology as a passing fad and is forced to face the fickle consequences of Hollywood fame. The terror with which Valentin views the advancing of the future is also represented in his nightmare scene, where George hears objects around him making noises whilst he remains silent and metaphorically incapable of speaking.
At its heart The Artist is an unashamed love story, yet the happy ending is not achieved without a good helping of suffering along the way. Hazanavicius warns his audience about the dangers of jealousy and male pride; attributes in George which pose a great threat to the happiness of Peppy and himself as a couple. Peppy’s chance meeting with Valentin at the start of the film proves greatly instrumental to the two of them; Valentin acts selflessly for the first time in order to help the beautiful and talented Miller onto the path of fame, only to feel the shame of his career’s decline as she hits the big time. In their emblematic meeting on a staircase of a Hollywood studio some months later, as Miller ascends into the Hollywood A-list, Valentin spirals down into a spirit of rejection, feeling forgotten by her and by his fans.
Yet in reality, George is very much in the forefront of Peppy’s mind. The beauty spot that Valentin tenderly paints on Miller during their first meeting - and which Hazanavicius chooses to name Peppy’s first breakthrough Hollywood film - becomes a physical symbol for the indelible mark that Valentin has left on her, despite his enforced absence from her life. Several times Valentin’s closest and most loyal friends struggle to help him out of his depression, yet it is only in the closing scenes of the film when the entire story verges on absolute despondency that Valentin finally and graciously swallows his pride, accepting help from those who love him.
Thankfully, The Artist succeeds where it could have epically failed; as a black and white, largely silent homage to a bygone era of cinema, the film’s greatest achievement is to enforce a relevant, current message. Just as we must be grateful to our forefathers for shaping our present, we must look to the future to avoid our achievements becoming relics of memory. Hazanavicius’s conclusion is so potent and so positive that it is hard not to smile; the future might be uncertain, but embrace it and you might just make it.
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