Leos Carax’s Annette – Brilliant or Boring? You Decide

The film’s leads include two popular, talented actors – Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver. Pounding music and lyrics from Sparks. A plot that veers into A Star Is Born territory. And a puppet that is both adorable and terrifying. Leos Carax’s Annette, put on hold during the pandemic, was given the plum spot at Cannes. While Julia Ducournau’s Titane won the Palme d’Or, Carax did win the best director award for Annette, appropriate since directing this over-the-top film certainly called for an heroic effort.

Early reviews coming out of Cannes are all over the lot. Some loved it, others hated it. After 20 minutes, I wasn’t sure I could watch the whole thing. But then I got pulled in. Driver and Cotillard seem like an odd couple, but that’s the point. Their characters – Driver plays Henry McHenry, a crazed comic who appears on stage in a green bathrobe and insults the audience, while Cotillard plays Ann Desfranoux, an opera star beloved by her fans – fall into a passionate and tortured love affair. They marry and have a daughter, Annette, who emerges from the womb  in puppet form. The couple is fodder for the tabloids and entertainment shows, which chronicle every step of the unusual, yet loving, relationship. 

Then, the turning point arrives. Henry’s career hits the skids, while Ann’s continues to soar. One evening trying to nap in the back of a limousine, Ann watches five women appear on a TV show describing the abuse they suffered from Henry. We hear nothing more about these allegations, but Henry turns to the dark side, Driver showing some of the evil intensity he displayed playing the Star Wars villain, Kylo Ren. On what was supposed to be an enjoyable getaway on a yacht, Henry assaults Ann on deck, while the vessel struggles to stay afloat in a violent sea. 

Annette not only survives the storm, but she emerges with her mother’s singing voice. Henry now is able to control and manage his daughter’s career. Jumping in to assist is Ann’s accompanist, who is now a conductor (Simon Helberg). The trio hit the road where Annette is an object of fascination and, in some respects, revulsion, as she stands on a pedestal and sings.

Throughout the film, the dialogue is mostly sung, the lyrics from Sparks are repetitive and uninspired. The film begins with the actors in their street clothes being joined by other cast members and extras as they walk briskly down the avenue singing “So May We Start?” (I couldn’t help but think about all those Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney films where they led a crowd on their way to putting on a show.) During one segment, Henry and Ann hold hands and wander through a forest singing, “we love each other so much,” words repeated in a love scene. Don’t expect to leave the theater humming any tunes or itching to download something on iTunes. (OK, maybe true Sparks fans will.)

Driver is the driving force in the film. (Cotillard seems like window dressing.) The word that comes to mind describing his performance is “exhausting,” both physically and mentally. Before he faces the audience, he shadow boxes back stage. His energy doesn’t diminish once he’s performing. He paces, falls down, gets up, gestures manically at those watching who, like a Greek chorus, respond as one. He rides a motorcycle recklessly. Even his lovemaking is aggressive. Whether or not you engage with his character, it’s hard not to be impressed by this performance. 

Dying was something that Ann perfected each night on stage as her character bled and collapsed while she kept singing. During one of his monologues, Henry tells the audience that he killed his wife, perhaps foreshadowing what happens on the yacht. But in the end, he will fare no better with his daughter than he did with his wife, his damaged ego making it impossible for him to truly love another. 

Annette opens in theaters on Friday, August 6, 2021.

Photos courtesy of Amazon Studios