Annette (2021)

Director: Leos Carax. Cast: Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard. 141 min. Rated R. Musical/Drama.

• After a 2-year hiatus due to Covid, the Cannes Film Festival opened this year with Annette. I guess they wanted to prove "We're back!" with an artsy, exotic film by the auteur of weirdness, Leos Carax, whose Holy Motors was the most bizarre movie I saw in 2012. Just imagine Adam Driver (Kylo Ren from the new Star Wars trilogy) singing ... 
• A stand-up comedian and a soprano singer fall in love, and after they have a baby (a doll!), the rise of the singer coincides with the downfall of the comedian. We have elements of the creepy Chucky doll, A Star is Born's storyline, and Natalie Wood's real-life death, all together in one musical. Yes .... that weird.
• Marion Cottilard does quite a job at opera here, but I kept wondering why Adam Driver was chosen for this role - he's not even trying to sing. He's just speaking melodically.  
• The movie suffers from its long running time (it should've more appropriately played as a Broadway musical), but the immense audacity for such a project is hard to ignore.

MoGo's rating: 7/10

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