Hullfire #3: Silence is Golden

Originally Published: February 2012

Hullfire URL: print only

It’s official: Oscar season has arrived. 

Critics’ awards and speculation about which film will be crowned king have been occurring for weeks, but the first of the major awards ceremonies, the Golden Globes, kicked off the run up to the big night on January 15^th, with the BAFTA nominations announced two days later.

The Golden Globes and BAFTAs are usually a good indicator of which films will have success at the Oscars, and this year is not likely to disappoint.  The film with the biggest chances so far is an unlikely candidate, The Artist, with 3 Golden Globe wins and 12 BAFTA nominations (the Oscar nominations themselves have not been announced at time of writing).  In a year where most of the highest grossing films have had 3D, special effects and no lack of loud noises, The Artist is very old-fashioned: a black-and-white silent film set in the early 1930s, when sound films, or ‘talkies’, were just beginning to become the norm.  The plot follows a charismatic actor of silent films struggling to cope with the change, while an up-and-coming young actress takes his place as the biggest star in Hollywood.

The Artist is truly a charming and wonderful film, made up of equal parts heart-warming romance and love letter to film history.  I challenge anyone to leave the cinema without a huge smile on their face.  It is no wonder then that everyone in the film industry is tripping over themselves to throw awards at its feet.   However, despite all of the film’s merits, some critics have expressed worry for the future of cinema if The Artist is named Best Picture at the Oscar ceremony on February 26^th.

The film business, like most industries, thrives on innovation.  Without the introduction of sound, colour and digital effects, films could not be the spectacle that they are today, and we would not have landmark films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or Avatar which advance the medium.  The Artist may be a spectacle for modern audiences, as many people will have never seen a silent film, but this does not change that in its affection and nostalgia for the past it is effectively anti-innovation.  An interesting comparison to The Artist is another likely Oscar contender, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, which was released in 3D (and many would argue that it is the best use of 3D to date).  Hugo is as much a love letter to early cinema as The Artist, but with its masterful use of 3D it simultaneously celebrates cinema’s roots and advances contemporary filmmaking techniques for the better.

On the other hand, when one is faced with some of the less subtle films that come out of these innovations, the special effects heavy, loud and crashing, poke-your-eye-out 3D releases, it is very tempting to revert back to a simpler way of filmmaking.  It could even be seen that The Artist is actually extremely innovative – who could have guessed that a traditional silent film could be released in the 21^st century and have such success?  It is possibly the bravest move in Hollywood for years, and will hopefully inspire filmmakers to experiment with different forms of storytelling.

Unfortunately, The Artist will likely be an anomaly, and before long we will once again be surrounded by the likes of the new superhero flick or generic romantic-comedy.  But if The Artist does win Best Picture of 2011 and happens to start a resurgence in silent filmmaking, it will be one century backwards, two steps forward – and maybe that’s a good thing.