So, I got there, and there were a ton of people in the ticket lines...like, seriously, they had four stations open, and there were probably half a dozen or more people in each line. But, anyway, I got my ticket, and headed inside, and went into the theatre and grabbed a seat a row from the top and right in the center. There were only two other people in there at the time. And boy, did it fill up quick. Mostly, it was old ladies, older couples, and what I assumed was ladies and their elderly mothers, but there were some younger couples and a group of twenty-something-year-old guys, which I thought was weird.
Anyway, the lights dimmed, and they had this weird-creepy promo for The Woman in Black, which involved shots of a crowd of people sitting in a movie theater, and then you saw the 'woman in black' behind one of them, and then she screamed, and I jumped a bit. Haha. There were some really good previews. Albert Nobbs looked really neat, Jeff Who Lives at Home looked somewhat cute, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen looked pretty cool, Moonrise Kingdom looked interesting, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel looked cute.
And then, finally, the movie started. And oh my goodness, I loved every minute of it. Basically George is a big silent film star, who meets Peppy at the premiere of one of his films, when she accidentally bumps into him and cameras capture the moment to be featured in the newspaper the next morning. Peppy auditions as a dancer and gets a part in George's next film. They get along very well, almost too well, in fact, for they mess up take after take of a scene because they linger to long in each other's arms or cause the other to laugh. Two years later, the studio decides to completely focus on making sound pictures, which George thinks is just a fad. He quits and decides to produce, direct, star in, and personally finance his own film, while Peppy makes a name for herself in the sound film industry back at the studio.
Their films premiere on the same day; the theatre where George's film is running is practically empty, while the line for Peppy's movie is blocks long. The failed film and the stock market crash cause George to go into financial ruin. His wife kicks him out, and he finds himself living in an apartment with his valet, who he eventually has to fire because he can't pay his wages. George also has to auction off all his personal effects. Sitting in his apartment, he attempts to drink his sorrows away, but finds himself more enraged and desperate.
He angrily pushes the film canisters containing his earlier films off the shelves, ripping some open, and unspooling the film. He lights a match and drops it into the mess, which soon turns into a raging fire. George panics, searching through the fire and film for something, while his dog runs out and attracts the help of a nearby policeman. The policeman returns to the house, finding George unconscious and clutching a film canister, and drags him out into the yard.
Peppy hears the news, and leaves the studio to go to the hospital. The doctor tells her George is fine, just needing rest, and she notices the film canister on the table. Opening it, she realizes it is the film of them together, messing up take after take and laughing. She asks the doctor if George could recuperate at her house, and the doctor nods.
George awakens to find himself in Peppy's home. The two have breakfast, but as Peppy leaves for the studio, she sees the disappointment on George's face at the realization that he isn't working on films. While at work, she threatens to quit if George does not co-star in her next film. The studio boss complies with her terms, and sends her valet (George's former valet) to the house to bring George the script.
George gets out of bed, and while looking around the house, finds a room full of his auctioned-off effects, realizing that Peppy was the one who purchased everything. He leaves the house, returning to his burned-out apartment. Peppy arrives back at the house, finding that George is not there, and panics. She calls for her valet, but he isn't around, so she takes the car herself and starts frantically driving around, trying to locate him. Meanwhile, George takes a wooden box from a shelf, and sits in his armchair. He opens the box revealing a gun, and puts it in his mouth.
The screen cuts to a 'word-card' with "BANG!" on it, then cuts back to a shot of Peppy crashing the car into a tree outside his apartment. She runs in, saving him from committing suicide, and, remembering how George is a superb dancer, convinces him to do a musical with her. The scene changes, and they are now dancing on a set in the studio. As they complete their choreography, the sound comes in. "Cut! Brilliant!" the studio boss calls, "Could you give me one more?"
Peppy and George smile, and George, in his first and only speaking line of the movie, replies, in a very thick French accent, "With pleasure."
And oh my gosh, it was amazing. I loved everything about it. The actors were amazing, the story was so awesome, and even without color and spoken word, it was extremely interesting. The way they played with the sound was exceptional. There was a dream scene where George is sitting in his dressing room, and as he puts his glass of water back on the table, you hear the 'clunk'. He starts freaking out, and as he slides the chair back, you hear the squeak. Then, the telephone starts ringing, and the dog starts barking, but when he tries to talk, and then tries to scream, nothing comes out. It was very cool. They also had moments where there was absolutely no sound, not even an orchestration in the background, which was very neat.
And the soundtrack...oh my gosh. Just listen to it.
So, really, go see this movie. If tickets at the Grand weren't so expensive, I'd go see it again and again and again, because, really, it was that good. I'm going to be rooting for a Best Picture nomination, and hopefully, a win, for this film. I'm not normally one for rating films, because I like most everything I see, but The Artist gets five out of five stars from me. :)
