Jean DuJardin won the Academy Award for Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of a silent film star who struggles to make the transition to the talkies. Lead Actor was a strong category this year, and a strong case could be made for any of the nominees to have won. (I personally would have preferred Gary Oldman to win, but that's no reflection on DuJardin.)
DuJardin's George Valentin starts out as a major film star in Hollywood, leading what appears to be a charmed life, with the exception of his marital situation. His fame seems to have gone to his head, and his wife seems disillusioned. Valentin's fortunes change dramatically when he bets that talkies won't last. DuJardin takes his character from the top of Hollywood to the lowest depths of despair; finally, he returns to form with the help of a starlet whose career he helped launch. Their relationship is complicated and touching.
Most of DuJardin's films are French; most of my experience with non-English-language films is with German and Japanese films, so I am going to rely on rottentomatoes.com for recommendations of other films starring DuJardin:
The Clink of Ice (Le Bruit Des Glacons)
OSS 117: Rio ne répond plus (Lost in Rio)
OSS 117: Le Caire Nid d'Espions (OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies)
Little White Lies
Upcoming films:
Les Infidèles
Le petit joueur (pre-production)
Möbius (pre-production)
Read an interview with DuJardin here.
This post was written by LR Simon as part of our ongoing series on the 84th Academy Awards.
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