By: debbie lynn elias
Written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST celebrates not just the timeless beauty and creativity of the silent movie, but the magic of the movies in general.
Shot in true black and white (no conversion), THE ARTIST takes a loving and comedic look at the days when talkies invaded Hollywood. The time is 1927 and George Valentin is the king of movies. Looking a lot like Erroll Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks, he makes women swoon both on and off screen. And one of those swooners is the young and naive Peppy Miller. A wannabe actress, Peppy is plucked from obscurity and quickly finds herself skyrocketing to fame and fortune in all singing, all dancing movies. But while Peppy’s star rises, George’s falls as he refuses to make the move to talkies.
While the films leads are played by two renowned French actors, Jean Dujardin as George and Berenice Bejo as Peppy, American actors fill the screen as John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Beth Grant and Missi Pyle all relish not only their own roles, but the magic of silent movies.
Guillaume Schiffman’s cinematography is exquisite and I expect an Oscar nom to come his way. Similarly, Mark Bridges’ costume design is period perfect. Shot in and around Los Angeles, locations will not only prove recognizable to you, but astound you with how easily you find yourself transported into the 1930’s while in 21st Century LA.
But what is a silent film if not for the music and here, Ludovic Bource’s score is divine. Elegant, energetic and filled with emotion, it will fill you with an extraordinary sensory experience.
I had a chance to sit down for an intimate 1:1 with writer/director Michel Hazanavicius and talk with him about creating the movie magic that is THE ARTIST.
Michel, I must commend you on an exquisite film. Simply exquisite.
Thank you very much.
Black and white is not the obvious choice for people. What is it that inspired you to not only film in black and white, but immerse yourself and the film in the whole 1920’s era of silent film and a film within a film concept?
A lot of things inspired me. I think my wife, Berenice Bejo, inspired me. But more seriously, I think, the love I have and the pleasure I have watching silent movies in theatres. I think it’s really something very special. I was not a specialist of silent movies, but what I saw – with the good ones – was a very specific experience. It’s a sensual experience. Very specific like 3D. Itfs something different than what we see usually. It works in a very different way. People think it’s an old format, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s not “old”. It’s just a format. The movies are old but not because of the format. They’re [just] old. They have been made in the ’20’s. That’s old. That’s why they are old. Not because of the format. So I thought, maybe if I can use that format and do more than a movie, even if the action takes place in the ’20’s, it’s still a modern movie. If I could use the format and do a modern movie, at least I tried to do it, people could have the benefit of the format and something very accessible for them. That’s what I tried to do. I wanted to share that very specific experience with an audience. On the other hand, as a director and this is very selfish, it was very challenging. I think for most of the directors – and I’ve met a lot of directors – and since I made [THE ARTIST], a lot of them told me that in a way they were “jealous.” They would say, “It’s my fantasy. It’s my fantasy to do [a silent movie]. I’m so glad that you’ve done it.” They were very happy for me. It really is a fantasy for a director because its the purest way to tell a story. It’s really about directing.
You’ve got a few of technical elements to the film that are very specific when dealing with black and white that are really showcased with THE ARTIST. Number One, your cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman. He really does a beautiful job with the cinematography and the use of light and shadow and grey scale. Inherent with that, and as many people found out when they have tried to colorize black and white film, colors that look good in black and white donft often look good in color when put together. How did you go about working with your production designer and costumer in putting together a wardrobe and set working in grey scale?
There are two things. For me, I have to give to all of my collaborators, all of the people I work with, I have to give them the “note” of the movie. We spoke a lot. I gave them 10 or 12 movies. Watch that. “That I love. That I love. This is the spirit of the movie.” These are what we then would call “the references.” Then we forget everything. We forget and focus on our own story. The story is my conscience. When we are talking, for example, of the shadows and the lights, some of the shadows and lights are my concern because they are telling the story. For example, when George Valentin sees the sound test, the arrival of sound, I wanted that very specific light with a very strong backlight and with very sharp shadows. I showed to Guillaume [Schiffman] the screening room scene in Citizen Kane, which is another a fine movie. It’s like 20 years later [after the time in THE ARTIST], it’s a movie from the 40’s, but this is exactly what I want to tell [this] story. I want the character to go from the light to the darkness because when he refuses the sound, that’s exactly what he’s doing. So, that tells the story. This is my concern. His concern is a little bit different. He has to take my ideas, my wish, and make it, and to respect in a way the references I gave him at the very beginning. Itfs very difficult to do; to put together some different wishes but to respect the movie. Guillaume did a really really great job.
And what about your costuming?
Mark Bridges, the costume designer, was absolutely fabulous. He did it the same way. For example, when George Valentin falls between 1929 and 1931, therefs an ellipse [of time] and like two years after, and then we find him in his apartment. So from Mark Bridges, I asked him to make some “little bit larger” costumes just to make the character look like he had shrunk a little bit; he’s not as fit as he was. He had to respect the [fabric] texture, the cut of the clothes and everything but also respect what I needed to tell the story. For example, when they are at the top, I asked him to have black and white, very contrasting, costumes. So when [George and Peppy] are at the top, they are very contrasting, strong characters. And when [George] falls down, they are more in grey, a grey background. [Mark] had to think about how the costume responded to the background. It’s a very complex job that he had to do and he did it very very well. Its a mix of what I need to tell the story because all the movie is done by little things like that; that’s the way the story is told, and their own sensibility and how to respect the general note of the movie. It was not easy for them. For the production designer, Laurence Bennett, it was the same. For example, I needed a lot of stairs. Stairs is the real achievement in the movie. It’s the story of a guy who’s going down so he always goes downstairs during all of the movie, even with the quicksand, he’s going down. And she’s going up, so she’s going upstairs. So we had to find for the location, stairs and stairs and stairs and stairs. And like the others, he had to respect the general note that I gave him and also to give me what I needed to tell the story.
You have given the world a magical gift with THE ARTIST. What‘s the greatest gift that directing has given you?
It’s like a wonderful huge story. It’s a huge story with a lot of people who are willing to play with you. You do the rules of the game and you can change the rules. It’s all about pleasure. It’s really like a game – a long one. You write a script and time is linear in the script and then you break everything into very small pieces. Then you do every single shot and in these shots you have to put this and this and everything. Then you go to the editing room and you put it all together and it becomes a game. This is passionate to do. It’s a wonderful process. I guess you have to like it. If you don’t like it, this is not your ideal. But if you like it, you have so many things in mind, you make so many decisions in one day. It’s a very complex thing. You have to be reactive. So you really feel that you are doing something special. I think that is the most interesting thing in directing that I get. Then after that, it’s a privilege to give pleasure to people.
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