MovieChat Forums > The Artist (2012) Discussion > The heroine didn't fit the time period, ...

The heroine didn't fit the time period, IMHO

posted 13 years ago by claudecat
115 replies | jump to latest

I really wish I could turn off the nitpicky part of myself that prevents me from just enjoying a film, but this movie had a few major anachronisms, in my opinion. For example, why is the Peppy Miller character considered a revelation of the talkies, when the spunky flapper persona she embodies is mainly associated with silents, and was certainly nothing new in the late 20's/early 30's?

In actuality, an Argentinian beauty like Bejo probably would have been cast as the "exotic" in that time period, not as the cutesy heroine. Not to say Bejo didn't perform well, or look gorgeous, and I liked her dancing, but I thought her look was way too sophisticated for the role as written. I would have toned down her Carole-Lombard-in-1936 eyebrows, for starters. (Lombard's eyebrows were a different shape in the twenties.) Bejo's whole look is very contemporary, and I could never quite believe that she lived in the movie's setting.

[–] blondee661 12 years ago

I agree with the OP, she looked way too modern, but she still gave a nice performance!

[–] JW-7 12 years ago

Anybody remember Somewhere In Time, where the hero, who has traveled from the 70's to 1912 (don't ask, see the movie) is instantly transported out of 1912 and back to his time because he sees a coin dated 1975? That what it sounds like you are saying. You guys are real real sensitive and need to get out of your heads and just enjoy the movie. I am always amused by the "goofs" section of IMDB---"The movie took place in 1982 and that hub cap design was not introduced until 1983."

Give me a break.

[–] Scott-101 12 years ago

I never thought of her as Argentine or French. With the black and white, it's hard to discren ethnicity?

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[–] giant-can 12 years ago

while i found her performance to be quite nice, and while she is a beautiful woman, i agree that she has just about the least suitable features for a period piece like this. that could have potentially been rectified with make-up but she was essentially somewhat miscast.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] purple-orchid 12 years ago

I disagree. Bejo has quite the classic look, thanks to make-up at least. But yes, she carried on the role with energy and charm indeed.

[–] noveltylibrary 12 years ago

agree wholeheartedly.

[–] rebekahrox 12 years ago

I totally agree. It bothered me even during the promos and trailers in anticipation of the movie. She is a beauty, but she would not have been appreciated back then. Mouth too wide, body too hard. Again, fine these days, Even desirable, but not back then. Not as a sweetheart/romantic lead. No.

[–] lucreti5 12 years ago

1920's/30's flappers were thin because they were underfed. More importantly, women didn't hit the gym back then. Bejo has too much muscle tone to pass for a woman of the period.

[–] 12 years ago

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