Directed by:
Leos CaraxCinematography:
Caroline ChampetierCast:
Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Dyson-Smith, Rila Fukushima, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Kiko Mizuhara (more)Plots(1)
An epic musical on the pitfalls of love, fame and fortune from visionary filmmaker Leos Carax, starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. The glamorous lives of a seemingly perfect celebrity couple - a provocative stand-up comedian and an internationally renowned opera singer - take an unexpected turn when their daughter Annette is born with a mysterious gift. An unabashedly unique and unforgettable spectacle, this Cannes Best Director prize winner co-stars Simon Helberg and features an original story and music by Sparks, one of pop's best-loved and most influential cult bands. (MUBI)
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Reviews (7)
This is a film that tries to kill a man to save him. Nobody can rip a man's eyes out of his head and turn them inside out like Carax. You stare into the abyss and it stares into you. For me, it is a surprisingly intimate film about pain, self-deception and fatherhood, about the illusions in which we lose ourselves, and also about the fact that film as the ultimate illusion can sometimes tear off all masks. Rationality is overrated, imagination will save the world. Or at least give it a decent funeral.
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This was my first encounter with this director, and I have to say, Annette is a wild ride. It's not filled with grotesque or over-the-top nastiness like some other weird films, but it’s still totally insane. Adam Driver and Simon Helberg give performances that are completely indulgent, while Marion Cotillard just coasts along, remaining as captivating as ever. The plot is simple and straightforward, but the theatrical delivery of the lines doesn’t make it easy for the audience. The visuals are striking, and the musical interludes, though repetitive, add an interesting layer. The recurring lyrical themes act like refrains, which was the least of my issues compared to the overall very peculiar execution.
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The unusual musical Annette, adapted from the stage production, is a brilliantly crafted tragic romance, both cinematically and musically, and it also works well as a sharp critique of the artificial world of show business, which leaves no room for true love. It is certainly not a movie that will appeal to the masses, but it will certainly find an audience. Fans of the band Sparks and of Adam Driver, who is here in top acting form, will be over the moon (75%)
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The first half is absolutely stunning and captivating; it loses a bit of momentum in the middle, but the final act is brilliant once again. We haven't seen a musical this unique in a long time, featuring a meticulously crafted visual style and an electrifying performance by Adam Driver. For many, it might be too unconventional and exhausting, but it's not as intensely arty as some might fear. It was a bit of a gamble for me, but I'm thrilled that Annette was my return to the cinema after nearly a 10-month hiatus.
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Annette can be described as Carax’s Southland Tales, as it also raises great expectations that it doesn’t live up to, while presenting a distinctive and tenaciously conceptual vision that is both easy to brush off and fulfilling to interpret, and it also goes stubbornly against the grain, seeming obstinately serious while offering an inwardly atypical and subversive spectacle that, however, exposes and adores all spectacles in equal measure. If we look for parallels to Annette and delve deeper into Carax’s cinephilia, we may also arrive at Jacques Demy and his ultra-kitschy and, at the same time, subtly self-reflective and totally self-assured musicals, which looked misguided next to the New Wave of the time, though they were essentially New Wave due to their obstinate formality and artificiality. Similarly, Carax’s treatment of the screenplay by Sparks tells a story that is banal at its core; in this case, a tabloid romance from the world of show business, full of grand emotions. He presents it to us gnawed down not only to the marrow, but also to its essential theatricality, self-centred pomposity and performativity. If in Holy Motors he showed film as a medium of deception and illusion, even as he simultaneously sang their praises and elevated the nude king himself to an enchanting phoenix, in Annette he constantly presents the artificiality, unreality and lifelessness of his opera from the world of alt-pop music videos. Films that don’t give us what we want are actually in some ways the most honest and unexpectedly fascinating.
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