My Review of The Artist

Yes, I saw.  Yes, I liked it.  No, not everyone will, not by a long shot.
Basic premise, George Valentin is a huge success as a silent movie star but can he stay relevant as talking pictures arrive.
The two leads, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, you probably haven't seen in anything else.  I sure haven't.  I was surprised, however at how many of the supporting characters were familiar.  Dujardin is so charming and so reminiscent of Gene Kelley that he completely captivates your attention anytime he is on the screen.  I guess I thought this movie would feel more like a foreign film, but it didn't at all.  It's a silent film shot in black and white with a fairly simple story line.  And that's what I love about it.  Its simplicity.  The Artist is a breath of fresh air compared to the whiz-bang movies we're accustomed to.  There's something romantic about the nostalgia of it all.  The music is amazing, which it better be if you're watching a silent movie.  And if Alfred Hitchcock showed us anything, it's how powerful silence can be.  This movie uses complete silence rarely, and to great emotional effect.  (for another great example of this see the scene in the rain in Road to Perdition.
The Artist will win the Oscar for Best Picture.  And I would say it is worthy of it for several reasons, one of which being that the filmmakers created something totally unique in today's market and made it very entertaining.  I expected  a bit of campiness and was pleased to find not a shred of it.  If you are willing to take a chance on this movie, you are in for a pleasant, sweet, and thoughtful surprise.  And it's "artsy" enough for the Academy to pay attention to (unlike anything Christopher Nolan does, which is always brilliant but never an "oscar-type-of-movie").
Go in with an open mind and a good sense of humor.  If you have no interest in seeing it, don't torture yourself because you will hate it.  If you have the attention span of a gnat, definitely skip The Artist because it does actually require you to pay attention, but know that you are missing out on something special.