THE ARTIST

Most people do not watch silent films. In fact, most people do not watch black and white films. Judging by the box office lately it seems people are even giving up on theatrical 2D. So I know I have my work cut out for me when I say you must go see The Artist as soon as possible. It is silent, black and white, 2D and not even in widescreen. And it is going to be crowned the Best Picture of the year by the Academy Awards; if it doesn’t I will have serious reservations about defending the Oscars’ integrity.

It is the story of George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a silent film star who is pushed aside at the start of the sound era; the classic rouge hero is quickly forgotten as new star Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) takes center stage working for Al Zimmer (John Goodman) and the Kinograph Studios.

All of the performances, with Dujardin and Bejo at the center, make this an extremely relatable film. Even modern audiences expecting to be frustrated by the lack of dialogue will be surprised by the expressive storytelling power that this film delivers. An equal partner to the actors is the film’s score by Ludovic Bource, and director Michel Hazanavicius uses the music or removes the music with elegant ease.

Many will claim it is for filmmakers and cinephiles only, but that is not true. Filmmakers and cinephiles are just at the head of the pack because they already watch silent films and understand that they should not be treated differently. A moment of silence will bring a hush to the audience, as it should, but that is no different than any other modern film. When a joke is funny, you can laugh. When a shock surprises you, you can gasp. A great film is a great film, and this uses every trick developed in a century of filmmaking to tell the most beautifully realized love letter to cinema I have ever seen. Only Hugo and Cinema Paradiso have come this close to recreating the exhilaration I remember from seeing my first movies.

This silent, black and white, full-frame movie is a delight. I will be going back to see it again. I will buy it on blu-ray. I will make everyone I know watch it because, believe me, it is breathtaking.

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Tomas Alfredson is the latest European director to make an English-language debut. Following his success with Let the Right One In, Alfredson has taken the classic spy thriller by John le Carré and put together one of the finest British casts ever assembled outside of Harry Potter. The result is a stunning and suspensful drama set in the 1970s at the top of British Intelligence.

Gary Oldman is George Smiley, the aging spy who was forced into retirement alongside his boss, played by John Hurt, following a botched operation in Budapest. When rogue agent Ricky Tarr (Tom Hardy) appears to have information about a mole at the top of the organization George Smiley is brought back to find the leak.

The script is a tight adaptation of the original book, and it will be the one to beat at this year’s Oscars. The shuffled timeline and regular flashbacks are all easily understood despite the lack of on-screen text to state the time and place. The 1979 adaptation of the novel was a television mini-series, so it was not restrained by a two-hour running time. Yet this version leaves out very little and is generally a far more effective thriller.

It is impossible to consider any element of the film being more important to its success than its cast. Gary Oldman is the center of the film, but Benedict Cumberbatch also shines as Smiley’s second-in-command. In this world of secrets and polite society the smallest gestures become important, and moments of insight are handled with a sure directorial hand by Alfredson who holds on a close-up or sustains a scene of emotional distress for just the right length of time.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has been nominated for three Academy Awards this year. As well as the screenplay it is nominated for Alberto Iglesias’ musical score, which is an exceptionally important part of the tension and mystery. The third is Gary Oldman for Best Actor. Oldman has never been nominated before despite numerous great performances since he came into the spotlight in the early 90s. If he manages to beat Jean Dujardin (The Artist) it will be the result of an Oscar-worthy performance by an actor who is long-overdue for a win.

SHERLOCK: Series 2

Another series of the BBC’s Sherlock has concluded. This brings the grand total of all the episodes to six. For those of you who have not yet watched this brilliant show it is the modern retelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective stories. Martin Freeman (coming soon as Bilbo in The Hobbit) plays Dr. John Watson, a former army doctor, and Benedict Cumberbatch plays the immortal Sherlock Holmes. Robert Downey Jr’s performance in his two films is a terrific and entertaining Holmes, but it is Cumberbatch who best-walks the thin line between genius and smart-ass.

Episodes one and three were, as in season one, the best. Episode one is possibly the best episode of the whole series. A Scandal In Belgravia introduces a new take on Irene Adler. Played by Rachel McAdams in the feature films, Irene is played in the series by Lara Pulver who takes the role to new levels. Irene is a femme fatale in the best ways, and without her presence the rest of the season just cannot compete.

Episode two this time around is a variation on “The Hound of the Baskervilles”. It is a reasonably good mystery, but like its season one counterpart (The Blind Banker) it is heavy on plot and light on the Watson/Holmes dynamic that makes this series so brilliant.

Episode three is the terrific finale The Reichenbach Fall, which fans of Doyle will notice was based on a very important story in Holmes’ history. It gives lots of screen time to the wonderfully insane Jim Moriarty, Holmes is put into plenty of difficult situations, brilliant dialogue is said, mysteries are solved, and once again it leaves me wishing that the BBC made longer seasons.

The Holmes and Watson dynamic has been done so many times (IMDb lists 255 going back to 1900) that you would think it would be worn out. But Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat have created a true original with Benedict Cumberbatch (best name ever)  and Martin Freeman as the best Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson we are likely to see for a long time.

If you have not seen this series I cannot recommend it enough.