Annette (Leos Carax is back)

johnny_ultimate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=068aFF8fOIA

It's been a very long ****ing wait for this one.

Leos Carax finally returns with his long-anticipated follow-up to the sublime Holy Motors. It's gone through a long gestation period (including Marion Cotillard replacing Michelle Williams and Rooney Mara). But there's finally a trailer, and the tease of a July Cannes premiere and French release. Amazon has US rights but AFAIK no word about when we can expect it here.

It's a trailer, but it looks glorious. It's a musical where the music is composed by pop rock duo Sparks. Anyone who has seen Holy Motors or Lovers on the Bridge knows Carax has a hell of an eye for outrageous spectacle, so a musical could be something very, very special.

Definitely my most anticipated film of the year, and fingers crossed a cinema release will be on the cards for the summer.

johnny_ultimate

This is finally out in cinemas. Life finds a way!

Caught it tonight and what an audacious mess of a thing it is. It starts with a musical prelude which is effectively the sequel to the accordion scene in Holy Motors (an all timer of a musical interlude). The film that follows than proceeds to troll, surprise and trick the audience at every possible opportunity.

Sparks’ music is best at its liveliest, worst with a couple of humdrum, pace-killing ballads. There are some magnificent flights of fancy, and some less impressive detours. But there’s a tonne of memorable scenes, boundless invention and just a general ‘anything and everything goes’ attitude that is quite the spectacle. Adam Driver’s performance is seriously, unsettlingly intense, although the film doesn’t give Cotillard as much space to shine which is a shame.

Most of Annette is bizarre, ironic and hyper-stylised - it’s beyond melodramatic and barely grounded in actual human emotion (or indeed grounded in actual humanity, since a key character is a ludicrous, slightly creepy puppet). But there’s a deceptively personal, even earnest film underneath its outrageous surface - something which does ultimately come to the fore and elevate this strangest of films beyond bizarro arthouse musical.

It’s the sort of film that comes with a huge ‘not for everyone’ disclaimer. I also don’t think it’s as good as Holy Motors. But it is certainly good IMO, and the kind of divisive big screen oddity I’ve very much missed during the pandemic.

emo72

I'm coming at this as a Sparks fan, going to go into it with an open mind. Reviews are a bit unsettling, from the point of view that it's not a crowd pleaser, but, that wouldn't bother me. I'll see how my opinion changes after I watch it. Thanks for your real world review Johnny.

santana75

Saw it last night and it was a painful experience. Definitely not for me, bizarre and the songs weren't even good. I like Sparks and thought the music would carry the film somewhat but it doesn't unfortunately. I honestly don't even know how films like this get green lit in the first place but that said I'm sure theres people who will appreciate and love this.