Open Wide

The Artist's first frame is of a big, screaming mouth. It turns out to be George's mouth, screaming because of the lightning bolts of electricity entering his head. Don't worry—it's all taking place in a movie-with-the-movie…this time.

But wide, screaming mouths continue to pop up throughout the film. And the gaping maw we see most often belongs to our man George.

These mouths symbolize both the new era of talkies, and also the ability to speak and communicate in general. Here's the problem: George fails at both starring in talkies and communicating off-screen. In fact, the realization of his ability to use his mouth in order to further his career or his personal life is one of the reasons George hallucinates floating mouths as he prepares to take his own life.