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| Jean Dujardin in The Artist |
I lasted through the first half of Peter Brook's Marat/Sade and found it too in love with its own mannerisms to proceed.
Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist betrays a love of cinema for its own sake that outshines Brook's spasmodic Brechtian direction. The nods to various film classics and to the conventions of the silent screen are performed with a deft touch in this slight, yet winning Oscar winner. Hazanavicius has chose to go the full throwback route with a largely silent film in black and white that utilizes the 4:3 screen ratio. The direction is restrained and gives his talented cast room to shine.
Jean Dujardin is particularly memorable as a Fairbanks-like silent lead who finds himself washed up when the talkies hit. The décor and costumes are spot on, giving a knowing lushness to the proceedings. Some thought this too lightweight and pleasant to be a Best Picture winner, but I prefer it to an overwrought, self-important turkey like Crash.
Peter Bogdanovich's four hour documentary, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream, is an affectionate portrait of the musical artist. Much like Scorsese profiling Dylan, this is a paean to a rock star; albeit a minor one. Bogdanovich does touch upon the dark side (drugs, but no sex) of the music world, but is mainly concerned with celebrating the man and his music. For the casual fan, streaming this in bits is probably the best way to view this unwieldy, but endearing beast. (6/23/16)
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