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"&lt;p&gt;Nothing heats up an Oscar race like an underdog for Best Picture. On the surface, &lt;em&gt;The Artist&lt;/em&gt; limps out of the gate with a host of handicaps: It&amp;apos;s a silent film (OMG, subtitles!) in black-and-white about Old Hollywood when talkies killed the silent-screen star. But it doesn&amp;apos;t take this captivating and steadily surprising movie very long to tickle your funny bone, take a piece of your heart and pull you in deep.&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;wm:embed type=\"related\"&gt;&lt;/wm:embed&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Artist&lt;/em&gt; is a total pleasure, written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius with a keen eye for detail. French actor Jean Dujardin, who collaborated with Hazanavicius on two &lt;em&gt;OSS 117&lt;/em&gt; spy satires, is simply marvelous as George Valentin, the dashing star of countless silent-movie epics. George resists the efforts of studio chief Al Zimmer (a wonderful John Goodman) to try talkies. Stuck in a loveless marriage, George is sparked by Peppy Miller (Argentine beauty B&amp;#xE9;r&amp;#xE9;nice Bejo), a bit player who hits it big in the sound era while George&amp;apos;s career crumbles. Dujardin&amp;apos;s face is a resonant reflection of George&amp;apos;s subtitled rage (&amp;quot;I&amp;apos;m the one people come to see. They never needed to hear me&amp;quot;). Only Clifton (the peerless James Cromwell), his driver, and the star&amp;apos;s dog Uggy (a scene-stealing Jack Russell terrier) stick with George through his fall. It takes Peppy &amp;#x2013; Bejo is dazzling in every particular &amp;#x2013; to save the man she loves.&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;It&amp;apos;s &lt;em&gt;A Star Is Born&lt;/em&gt; blended with &lt;em&gt;Singin&amp;apos; in the Rain&lt;/em&gt;, and yet somehow bracingly fresh. Credit the tantalizing magic of Hazanavicius, who only twice breaks the no-sound rule (I&amp;apos;ll never tell) and creates something unique and unforgettable. Gorgeously shot by cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman and with a vivacious score by Ludovic Bource, &lt;em&gt;The Artist&lt;/em&gt; encapsulates everything we go to movies for: action, laughs, tears and a chance to get lost in another world. It just might leave you speechless. How can Oscar resist?&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Related&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;#x2022; &lt;a href=\"../../../movies/blogs/the-travers-take\"&gt;The Travers Take: Reviews and Interviews From Peter Travers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/the-artist-20111121>