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“Annette” by visionary director Leos Carax opens with a contagious musical number, “So May We Start”, which recalls a sublime moment in his superb film, “Holy Motors”. Then it just gets annoying. This upbeat musical is calculated to disarm and polarize audiences – and it will. Some will be delighted and admire its risky nature; others will be exasperated and bored to the teeth. But that doesn’t make it good.
Before the endless singing begins – Sparks did all the songs – a voiceover demands the full attention of the audience. However, it’s hard not to let your mind wander during this visually vibrant yet emotionally stagnant film. “Annette” is thin on the plot but long on the runtime (140 minutes).
Henry McHenry (Adam Driver) is a comedian with a sold-out hit show called “The Ape of God” and described as “a slightly offensive night”. This is a long stand-up routine that Henry performs in a bathrobe on stage. The audience asks why he became a comedian, and he responds, like a call and a response, with impertinence and rudeness. He is decidedly intellectual. On the other hand, his girlfriend, Ann Defrasnoux (Marion Cotillard), opera singer, is intellectual. She “dies and bows every night,” as Henry observes. They are nicknamed “Beauty and the Bastard” by the press. The fictional “Showbizz News” interrupts “Annette” from time to time to sing reports about the couple’s engagement, their baby and their possible breakup.
Henry and Ann’s relationship is counter-intuitive, and the couple notes this fact even in a song, “We Love Each Other So Much”, which deliciously muddies the banality of love songs with this title line repeated almost ad nauseum. “Annette” is engaging during these opening scenes, as well as during an episode where Henry tickles Ann. (There is, it is true, a real pleasure to see Driver making Cotillard squirm while licking his feet.)
Even when the film seems like a loosely chained set of sets, like a meta-performance by Ann’s accompanist (Simon Helberg), or a fabulous delivery room runaway, Carax keeps his audiences intrigued if not impressed. The film gently switches to surrealism, with a monkey representing Henry in one shot, or Ann entering a forest on stage during a performance. Even when an unexpected revelation is made about the nature of Annette, the couple’s baby, viewers can follow the film just to see where it is going.
But then “Annette” takes several turns for the worse. Six women have come forward accusing Henry of abuse, witnessing his violence and anger (in a song that seems heavily influenced by Philip Glass). Henry’s Las Vegas shows bombs don’t kill, causing its star to decline. And something happens on a yacht during a storm that changes the narrative in both unexpected and unpleasant ways.
As Carax pulls the carpet and floor out from under the audience, another twist occurs – Henry makes a discovery about baby Annette that prompts him to take her on tour even as Ann’s accompanist accuses Henry of exploit the child.
And this is where the film will test viewers’ patience and goodwill (if it hasn’t already). It’s not just that the plot gets dark and the music darker. The scenes last too long and lack punch. There seems to be little profit from investing so much time with Henry, a monstrous and unfriendly character, listening to his no-fun stage show, or watching him act like a stage dad to Annette.
What Carax says about fame fickleness and the dangers of fame seems almost as obvious as “We love each other so much.” It just doesn’t seem to be there once the movie finally gets to where it’s going.
The driver certainly seems to appreciate the opportunity to deliver such a complex and comprehensive performance. He is a fascinating actor, whose large frame can dominate the screen; Carax frequently films him shirtless, practically fetishizing Driver’s physique and massive size. However, Driver, with his big broad shoulders, is forced to carry the weight of this movie, and maybe that’s too much of a task. As Henry transforms during “Annette,” Driver deftly changes his look and demeanor, but it feels like he’s spending considerable energy on nothing. His vocals aren’t the best, and as the movie runs out – the ending is abrupt – it feels like Driver is just exhausted and has to stop.
To support that, Cotillard is lovely here, but she’s woefully underused. His character is underdeveloped, even to the extent that there is something, never explained, involving him repeatedly munching apples.
“Annette” is infuriating because she engages the senses but rarely the emotions. The movie can be sleek and the visuals are accomplished – Carax uses overlay images, strobe effects, and other visual gimmicks – but they can’t hide the fact that, like Henry’s shocking performance in Vegas, the Emperor has no clothes.
“Annette” hits theaters Friday August 6 and is available to stream August 20 on Amazon.
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