By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.9 cats
Director: Leos Carax
Starring: Adam Driver | Angèle | Devyn McDowell | Marion Cotillard | Natalia Lafourcade | Simon Helberg
Country: belgium, france, germany, japan, mexico, switzerland, united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 141
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6217926/reference
Chris says: “ANNETTE is a tough film to wrap one’s head around and you wouldn’t expect anything less from an epic, operatic musical directed by Leos Carax (whose last film was the bonkers HOLY MOTORS) and written/composed by brothers Ron and Russell Mael, better known as the long running cult duo Sparks. It’s a work that revels in its extreme artifice from the opening scene where Carax, the Maels and the cast march from the film set/recording studio through the streets of Hollywood at night, singing the self-referential anthem ‘So May We Start’.
“The story that unfolds is similarly insane, charting the tempestuous romance between Henry (Adam Driver, possibly never better), a popular shock comedian and Ann (Marion Cotillard), an opera diva. Diametrically opposed in approach to their respective arts (Henry aims for laughter, Ann for tears as her character dies on stage every night), they have a child together, Annette; she is portrayed by a puppet.
“From there, things gradually spiral, occasionally alluding to such iconic Hollywood tales as A STAR IS BORN and MULHOLLAND DR. There’s murder and manipulation, emotional and philosophical crises, and a heightened sense of fantasy and self-awareness that lends itself completely to the predominantly sung dialogue–if there is an analogue in the music here to Spark’s wildly diverse back catalog, it’s their great 2002 album LIL’ BEETHOVEN, a quasi-classical work of melodic repetition and lyrical recitation.
“The film sustains a teetering-on-the-edge-of-sanity feel that rarely lets up during its 140 minute running time and it’s not difficult to see why that makes for such a polarizing watch. Often reminiscent of similar musical/film balancing acts like PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE and, to a lesser extent, MOULIN ROUGE, ANNETTE’S weird hybrid of emotion and artifice manages to feel more personal than either. After one viewing, I don’t yet know if it’s a great film or just a great effort at one, but I can honestly say I can’t get it out of my head. 4 cats
“(ANNETTE is available for streaming and rental on Amazon Prime)”
Diane says: “ANNETTE disappointed me. I’ll call it bad, but it’s bad in a way you’ve never seen before, so don’t rule it out. It’s a pop opera, a melodrama?, composed by the Sparks Brothers and directed by Leos Carax (HOLY MOTORS), whose face I believe is the first one we see in the film, along with his daughter’s. Adam Driver plays a standup comedian full of self-hate and bile. His singing voice is light and ordinary. Marion Cottillard plays his partner and opposite, a beloved opera singer, in a smaller role. A few puppets play their daughter Annette.
“Divisive and upsetting, ANNETTE plays with a notion that ‘if something is this divisive (within reason), can it truly be a bad thing altogether?’ This film is a seemingly off-the-rails narrative coupled with precision film-making. This is not to say that director Leos Carax intentionally drives the story off a cliff, however. No, it is more akin to a glorious towering inferno of absurdity in the aftermath of an intentional carnival ride derailment.
“All things considered, this is more than a Jackson Pollock splatter-paint exhibition. Instead, the film’s plot seems to take aggressive and satirical jabs at modern celebrity-ism, crave culture gullibility, viral social media exploitation, mock relevance-seeking, and the swell of cancel culture as just a few of its themes. Perhaps most glaring is the film’s satirical attempt at a coup de grâce in the focus on the theme/trend of male guilt and male displays of anguish that co-opt gender issues that aren’t really ever about males at all. To explore that possibility further, the film must be looked at in its holistic form: Hamlet-esque soliloquies, self-loathing monologues, the rise and fall of love almost defiantly from a dominant male point-of-view. It’s a conundrum that either points toward Carax being a genius with his finger on the pulse of mass media/culture absurdity and gender inequality/inequity or toward Carax as a tone-deaf film-maker swimming in his own chauvinism. For this viewer, I tend to lean toward giving him more credit than assuming any negligence on his part.
“While Carax is certainly in his own lane for the most part, it is still noteworthy how the film feels a bit Fillini-esque at times, a bit Busby Berkeley in its musical “wall-bending or -breaking,” and a lot Shakespearean. In fact, more often than not, it comes across as a deranged Frankenstein’s monster reanimation version of Shakespeare. You can also add in a little touch of King Vidor, especially since footage from his 5-star masterpiece THE CROWD appears to be used as a thematic prop for a particular sequence that points toward groupthink/groupexperience culture.
“Criticisms of Driver’s vocals are likely warranted to some degree, but I find that the near-cacophonic nature of it all juxtaposed with Marion Cotillard’s precision really fits the Henry McHenry self-indulgence theme that I believe Carax is going for. I mean, do I need to repeat that the character’s name is Henry McHenry to help drive home the point? Cue the ‘ape of God’ marquee.
“The elephant in the room that must be discussed is the use of puppetry throughout. Instead of a mere ‘look at me’ novelty, the metaphor of Annette at a puppet seems clear to me as the self-absorbed McHenry pulls the strings in his relationships leading up to the parental control scenario over his own daughter. Narratively speaking, while McHenry becomes tangled in crime in a literal sense, this is yet another metaphor for his crimes of failing at humanity while his blinders are on as a male. “Can’t I love you?” McHenry asks. Does one really have to ask such a question? He forfeits all such possible connections by even having to ask in the first place. Perhaps if Annette had been born or perceived as a flesh and blood daughter, a female, instead of a puppet, the answer could have been yes, or better yet, the question would never even have to exist at all.
“It’s not easy. And it’s not for everyone. Who am I kidding? It’s not for MOST people. Understandably so. Yet, it’s the kind of film that almost supersedes a rating or ranking because it’s much more full of necessary discussion and questions than answers. Nevertheless, I’ll give it a shot . . .
“4 cats out of 5 (and it might be a 5, but I’m likely not keen enough for this film to know for sure)”
Michael says: “Oooo-Kay, let’s keep the divisiveness going.
Thanks for the intriguing review, Chris. You certainly have piqued my interest far more than anything else I’ve read. I will definitely check it out!