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Published: 5 January, 2012
by DAN CARRIER

Directed by Michael Hazanavicius
Certificate PG

Rating: 5 Out Of 5 Stars

This film about film stars and the movie industry is pretty similar to Singin’ In The Rain – even the ending has a reference to that lovely bit of Hollywood.

Without voices, we are treated to a masterclass in how the human face portrays emotions. Eyes roll dramatically, shoulders are hunched, brows frown, eyebrows wriggle.

It is called “mugging” in the film – yet when you watch a silent film of this type you realise that it is not a question always of sound improving film, but is simply a different type of the art form.

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a Douglas Fairbanks Junior-style movie star – a dashing, handsome heroic swashbuckler. But his stellar career is in trouble – as with Jean Hagen’s Lina Lamont character in Singin’ In The Rain, the advent of the talkies spells disaster for Valentin.

It is not as if he can’t speak; just that he isn’t convinced by the new technology. He is quickly dumped by a cigar-chomping movie mogul (John Goodwood).

He has met a girl in a crowd outside one of his premieres called Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), who with Valentin’s help gets work as an extra – and then becomes a huge star in her own right.

One of the most crucial elements of this film is the wonderful, stupen­dous, incredible music. Composer Ludovic Bource has drawn on some arrangements you’ll recognise – a riff on Pennies from Heaven crops up – but it also he has written original film score and is really quite beautiful.

Finally, a special mention must go out to the actor who steals every scene he appears in: Uggie the Jack Russell, our lead’s best friend.