San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
‘ANNETTE’ IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE, SUNNY MUSICAL
What I’m obsessed with: “Annette,” an odd and unsettling drama starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. It was released to rent on Amazon over the summer, but recently became free for Amazon Prime subscribers.
What’s the buzz? It got a five-minute standing ovation at the 2021 Cannes International Film Festival but has also caused people to walk out of theaters. You have to pick a side — love or hate. It’s that kind of movie.
Why I’m obsessed: I love musicals, and “Annette” is actually a sungthrough musical, meaning there’s barely any spoken dialogue and everything is conveyed through song. But “Annette” is not a musical in that shiny, happy “Singin’ in the Rain” kind of way. It’s more like director Leos Carax put his darkest thoughts on screen, then filled that screen with surrealist images, and set everything to a soundtrack by the indie band Sparks (Ron Mael and Russell Mael of Sparks wrote the music and contributed to the screenplay.)
What’s the story: The basic plot of “Annette” is a love story between raunchy comedian Henry Mchenry (Driver) and beloved opera singer Anne Defrasnoux (Cotillard). They make an unlikely couple: He “kills” audiences each night with his aggressive comedy routine, she “saves” them each night with her beautiful opera arias. After they have a daughter, Henry and Anne’s relationship becomes toxic and dangerous.
Wait, is this the movie where Adam Driver ... : Yes, so, the movie initially made headlines because Driver sings while performing a sexual act.
Oh, this is also the movie with a puppet?: Another reason “Annette” attracted attention is because rather than casting a human child to play Henry and Anne’s daughter, Annette, the director instead used a puppet — and a not very realistic puppet at that. But try to get over it because the puppet actually works in this movie’s strange universe. This sounds weird: You need to be in the right head space to watch “Annette.” It has its own universe where beautiful things quickly become grotesque. Anne and Henry’s lush and secluded house, for example, can feel freeing and oppressive at the same time. Even if you’ve accepted the premise and style of the movie, it’s also an exploration of ego, preservation, love and mortality. All together, it left me uneasy and unsettled. But in a good way. Or, at least in a way that I can’t stop thinking about it.
“Annette” is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.