“Annette” Review
Adam Driver (Left) and Marion Cotillard star in “Annette,” a rock opera directed by Leos Carax with music and a screenplay by the musical duo Sparks.
One sub-genre of film so bizarre and so creative is the rock opera which tells a story not with dialogue but rock music which creates a story and characters. While a relatively inactive genre for a long time, French director Leos Carax’s first English-language film, “Annette,” is a striking modern-day rock opera and is a crazy and memorable journey for anyone who can watch the film on Amazon Prime Video.
Set to music by the rock duo Sparks, who wrote the film’s screenplay, the film follows the romance of outlandish stand-up comedian Henry (Adam Driver) and opera singer Ann (Marion Cotillard) which becomes a family when their daughter Annette is born and develops a gift for beautiful singing. As Henry’s career declines and his wife’s becomes more successful, he descends into a whirlwind of resentment and self-loathing.
With very few players in this film, the main cast takes center stage and they absolutely shine. Marion Cotillard’s performance is captivating and her balance of emotion and reserve is something to be admired. But it’s Adam Driver who delivers an incredible performance that rivals his past work in films like “BlacKkKlansman,” “Marriage Story,” “Silence” or the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy. Driver’s character slowly transforms into an unredeemable man searching for love and it showcases Driver at his most despicable.
Ever since I saw “Marriage Story” two years ago and I saw Adam Driver sing a beautiful rendition of “Being Alive” from “Company,” I was excited to see him sing in a full length musical and he does well. While he’s not a bombastic singer like Hugh Jackman or Ewan McGregor, he’s more subtle and soft like Ryan Gosling or Jeff Bridges. It’s not the singing as much as the emotion and depth that goes into it.
Another standout from the film is Simon Helberg who, for those that only know him from “The Big Bang Theory,” is a very interesting actor with a great many outstanding performances. In this film, he plays a conductor who becomes involved with Henry’s family when Annette’s singing abilities grow at an exponential rate. However, this conductor is keeping something from Henry which results in one of the most surprising parts of the film.
(From Left) Simon Helberg, Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver deliver incredible performances in “Annette,” making it one of the most memorable musical experiences in a good while.
But a good rock opera is nothing without the music and what Sparks composed for the film is unbelievable. I saw the film a few days ago and so many of these tunes are stuck in my head. While the lyrics are simple, they convey a lot through the actors’ performances and how well the melodies sound. The Sparks Brothers have become a bit more popular recently after director Edgar Wright released a fantastic documentary this year called “The Sparks Brothers.” With both that and “Annette,” I have a feeling that this duo will become even more popular in the future.
Alongside films like “In the Heights,” “Minari” and “The Green Knight,” this may be the most visually stunning film of the year and it’s dripping with atmosphere and beauty. The costuming, lighting and use of color affected me on an emotional level and sucked me into this story. There's a scene on a boat that occurs halfway through the film that was so engaging that I could have watched it on mute and been satisfied, but then I’d miss the great music.
Throughout most of the film, Annette isn’t played by a child actor but instead is played by a wooden marionette doll. This idea may seem off putting but the film actually makes it work because it is a powerful metaphor. It’s symbolism of her being a puppet in Henry’s life is on-the-nose while also being creative.
As is the case with many rock opera films like “Tommy” (based on The Who’s album) and “Pink Floyd: The Wall” (based off of Pink Floyd’s album), there are issues with the film when it comes to pacing. There’s a solid 10 minutes of the film that move so slowly that I was beginning to feel bored. Thankfully, the film got back on track and I was still sucked into it. I think that there comes a point in a lot of rock operas where they try to be more meticulous in their story and it can sometimes come off as long-winded.
Leos Carax’s direction is phenomenal and I’m shocked that I’ve never heard of him until now, proving that my knowledge of foreign cinema has room for improvement. Carax won the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Director Award and it shows with how well he tells this story with vivid imagery and imagination.
“Annette” isn’t an average musical and it isn’t meant for the same audiences that loved “La La Land,” “The Greatest Showman” or “In The Heights.” It’s much more for the crowd who love weird rock operas like “Pink Floyd: The Wall” or “Hedwig and the Angry Itch.” “Annette” is something that perfectly balances mainstream actors and budgets with an arthouse feel, making the film one interesting experience that I won’t soon forget.
