Annette is a musical from French filmmaker, Leos Carax, who is making his English language debut, and sharing a co-writing credits with Ron and Russell Mael – the duo behind the band, Sparks, who also compose the film’s score. It’s a sprawling fable that starts off with the unlikely relationship that forms between a provocative comedian, Henry McHenry (Adam Driver) and opera singer, Ann Defrasnoux (Marion Cotillard), their place in the media spotlight, and the various complications that occur over time, mostly due to Henry’s less-than-great qualities, especially when a daughter enters the picture, Annette, who has a very striking and captivating talent.
While that might summarize a good chunk of the film, it’s still only scratching the surface in terms of everything that the film offers. Anyone aware of the works of Leos Carax would know that his films are often hard to pin down genre wise, and they have a personality that is very out-there and distinct to him alone. Annette being his first English language film is by no means a way for him to water down his sensibilities, in fact, it probably allows him to double down on all his strange idiosyncrasies and off-beat instincts as a storyteller and visual stylist.
It has probably been pointed out by plenty of folks already, but it’s worth pointing out that the experience of the film is less like any traditional narrative, and more like an opera. Big canvas, big emotions, stagey sequences and blocking, and weird blends of literal and metaphorical imagery that is as confounding as it is captivating. I’ve honestly never seen anything quite like this before, and not just in terms of being a musical, but any kind of film. It’s not everyday you get to say something like that.
That does, however, make it occasionally hard to connect. It’s strange because the film is as emotionally naked as can be as it explores Henry’s ego, and the way his decisions set him on a path of self-destruction, and yet, there is a bit of a distance there due to the overwhelming elements of its production design and other artistic choices. Driver makes it work though, he is clearly committed and he navigates the unique tone that Carax is working with here with a surprising amount of confidence and vulnerability, especially considering his character is not a particularly good guy.
There is a lot to like and admire about Annette, and I find that I admired Annette more than I enjoyed it. Several of the numbers didn’t quite work for me, and that’s understanding that the style here is quite different than a typical musical. It’s not the kind you really sing along to as much as observe and absorb. What I got out of it was an intensely personal portrait of ego and toxic masculinity, and the artifice of cinema and celebrity. There is a lot to take in, and maybe that’s why I’m not totally enamored with it, perhaps it will grow on me. But still, it’s clearly a labor of love from Leos Carax, and the cast is putting everything they have into it, from Driver’s intensity to Cotillard’s haunting presence. I was on board from the get-go in terms of its weirdness, it was only in really grasping onto those emotional beats that I found to be a bit of a struggle. It’s not a boring movie, it’s always interesting, either from a visual or thematic standpoint, and while it may not have totally landed for me 100%, it was an experience I was really glad I had.
Annette is still out in select theaters and now available on Amazon Prime Video.