“We love each other so much,” the leads of this bizarre yet beautiful musical sing to each other on multiple occasions, but what is first romantic soon becomes toxic.
In Annette, comedian Henry McHenry (Adam Driver) and opera singer Ann Defrasnoux (Marion Cotillard) are living a fairytale showbiz romance that the world is lapping up.
The pair get engaged and then go on to have a baby daughter named Annette, who is born as a wooden marionette puppet (yes, really).
Swiftly, Ann makes some dark discoveries about Henry and the marriage begins to spiral into a place of fury, violence and tragedy.
At the centre of this is the child Annette who then happens to display a powerful and eerie gift of her own.
Deservedly winning Best Director at Cannes Film Festival, Leo Carax has crafted a unique creation in Annette, bringing a knowing tone, moving songs, wonderful actors and genuinely unnerving singing marionette baby.
The cinematography and production design also add another layer to the fantastical elements of the tale, almost capturing the quality of a child's storybook.
Yet Annette is an ambitious beast, on the whole, tackling issues of fame, romance, the power of the media, parenthood and artistry but most importantly it is a tale of misogyny. This is a tale about a man who tries to own and uses the women in his life for his own purposes, not even seeing them as an individual but as objects to control.
Resultantly, Adam Driver dominates Annette almost as much as the film’s titular marionette. He captures the droll humour, villainy, romanticism, eroticism and pain required of this complicated romantic lead and also displays his own killer pipes too.
Always magnetic and displaying raw physicality in his performance, Driver is one of the best actors of his generation and Annette is another testament to that.
The equally talented Marion Cotillard is luminous as always but sadly only gets to play second fiddle to Driver throughout as the leading man gets the majority of the screentime. This is not to say that the Oscar-winning French actress is short on memorable moments and touching musical numbers, however.
The other stars of the shown are pop and rock duo Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael) who provide the music here, some of which is used and delivered in ridiculous or even downright laughable circumstances but is mostly always thoughtful, melancholic and haunting.
Even at its most meditative and self-indulgent, Annette remains oddly hypnotic, touching or downright unnerving, with its oddly cathartic conclusion really underlining the thematic content so far.
Ultimately, Annette is a singular experience that will prove an acquired taste but one that you would never forget - especially with its vaguely creepy singing titular puppet.
Verdict
Annette is a weirdly wonderful and sure to be divisive musical from Leo Carax that boasts mournful but knowing songs from Sparks and another stunning turn from Adam Driver.
Annette is released in UK cinemas on September 3, 2021. It will be released on streaming service MUBI in the UK on November 26, 2021.
What is your favourite musical? Let us know in the comments below.
