Rock opera
She speaks sincerely of a singer’s aspiration to uplift and “save” her fans, while after a good show he says he “slayed” or “killed ‘em.” Their unlikely affair is the talk of tabloid television, with the film occasionally interrupted by gossipy news breaks offering updates about the state of their relationship: It’s not good. Henry’s madly, crazy in love with Marion Cotillard’s Ann Defrasnoux, a superstar soprano with a heart as light as his is dark. Excruciatingly unfunny, he paces and prowls the stage like Tom Cruise in “Magnolia” doing Andrew Dice Clay’s “The Day the Laughter Died” material, contemptuously insulting the audience for being there - and of course they eat it up.
#Rock opera movie#
“Annette” might not be a movie for everybody, but setting $15 million on fire for such a singular, crackpot vision strikes me as a far more productive waste of Amazon’s money than sending a divorced billionaire to space.ĭriver stars as standup comedian Henry McHenry, who bills himself as “The Ape of God” and performs in a prizefighter’s robe and trunks, with a bevy of Black backup singers.
A passionately overheated melodrama about creativity and cruelty, when it was over I wasn’t sure what I’d just watched, but I knew I wanted to see it again as soon as possible. (Driver hails from San Diego but I believe this makes him an honorary Frenchman now.) Eight years in development, this angsty, unclassifiable musical whatzit features an international cast performing songs by American pop art duo Sparks and is, by turns, an ecstatic and intensely alienating experience.
#Rock opera driver#
Writer-director Leos Carax’s audacious rock opera “Annette” was the opening night selection at last month’s Cannes Film Festival, its gala premiere prompting boos, walkouts and a standing ovation that went on for so long the film’s star Adam Driver had time to smoke a cigarette while everyone was applauding. Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard in "Annette." (Courtesy Amazon Sutdios)