I just got back from seeing The Artist, probably the best single piece of media I have experienced in 2012 thus far. For those of you haven’t seen it, or, dare I say it, haven’t heard of it, The Artist is a silent film about the changeover to talking pictures. No, not like Singing in the Rain, at least not most of the time.
Though there are about a billion different aspects of that movie I would love to deliberate on, the one I would like to focus on at the moment is economy. economy of sound, of color, of motion, of light - what I am trying to say is that a good movie is a little bit like porridge. All of those attributes need to be carefully balanced in order to be “just right.”
Take, for example, that abysmal third Transformers movie. Transformers are cool. I like transformers. In my opinion, that movie was hobbled by not making adequate use of the transformers. I went to that movie to see giant robots punch each other. I did not go to that movie to see Shia Labeouf whine into the camera for 45 minutes. The balance between action and pathos was all askew.
To take an example from outside of the sphere of cinema, look at the Dubstep genre. I have mixed feelings about it to be sure, but there are quite a few creditable pieces out there. The problem with many of the worse pieces is the sheer amount of notes being thrown around.
The problem, I think, might be that people are getting to accustomed to sensory overload. The flash of advertisements is starting to dull in our eyes. The constant chatter of the internet is spilling over into our subconciousness. We are losing the ability to appreciate the subtle.
The Artist is beautiful because of its minimalism. There is just enough sound (thanks to an extremely compelling classical/jazz soundtrack). The lack of color is a welcome relief from the oversaturated pop of most films. Beautiful and dramatic chiaroscuro replaces stupid and random lense flare. I particularly appreciated the lack of dialogue. Every word counted. It made me realize how superficial the lines in so many movies are.The Artistachieves in two dozen lines of script what many movies could never hope to.
Try to rein it in a little, world. We could use a break.
