Iron Lady and The Artist

Tis the season to go broke. Not from holiday excesses, but rather from $15 (yes, with Fandango service charges) tickets to see all of Hollywood's potential Oscar horses. This is no reason to cutback, just cause to justify hours of entertainment as culturally merited. Two of the latest: The Iron Lady and The Artist, I would see regardless. Meryl Streep reads the phone book: There. Meryl Streep laughs while others commend her facility with accents: There. Meryl Streep portrays a multifaceted major historic figure of an era that I don't know enough about: There. While I wasn't thoroughly impressed by the narrative technique of The Iron Lady (the flashbacks, the ghost husband, etc) and what it ultimately said or tried to say about a woman trying to "do it all," it was a master class performance from unarguably the greatest living screen actress. Not a false note, just carefully crafted, understood, and delivered in Meryl's signature style, with a slight nod to comedy. Her secret, regardless of the role, seems to be she always appears to be having fun. This serves her in all films ranging from Julie and Julia to The Hours to The Devil Wears Prada to Mamma Mia. She is delighted to take you on this journey and along the way, teach you something about the human condition. This is worth top dollar.

The Artist which was successful in many respects -- creative concept and execution, beautiful to watch and to experience, especially in the majestic Paris Theatre on 58th Street across from the Plaza, about as close to the bygone era film houses it heralds as you can get these days, but ultimately it fell short. I felt Pepi gave him too many chances and his ego was too large. The last five minutes were definitely worth it, but the script could have benefited from some more interrelationship dynamics. One suicide attempt too many I think. That being said, it's shaping up to be quite an exciting season for Oscars. Can't wait for the next outings.