The category of Musical is rich in success and tradition in the world of cinema. If you were to go back and look at all of the classics which have won Best Picture, especially during the 1960s, I think you would find that many of them were musical in nature. Even as recent as the past two decades, we have seen this occur. It is quite simple as to why: classic never dies. However, it changes with the times and times have definitely changed a lot in a very short amount of time, lately…

As per usual, when I sat down in the movie theater (for the first time in a year or so), I had zero expectations. All I knew was that this was going to be a long movie, as in two hours and twenty minutes.

For starters, this is the English-language debut of French director Leos Carax (“Holy Motors”). He, also, co-wrote the screenplay with the story originators, Ron Mael and Russell Mael (of Sparks fame). If you are a fan of Musicals, I would suggest that you prepare yourself for something off-beat. In my personal experience, the songs in a musical are meant to convey a thought or feeling, but in a poetic and deeply-expressive way. As you know, music tends to carry a lot of emotion within it. What makes the concept different, in this case of “Annette,” is that the words are very deliberate and straight-forward. The lyrics do not tend to sound poetic. Instead, the delivery and actions of the actors carry the emotional weight. For example, the opening number literally announces “this is the start of the show” and the early love-making scene involves the primary actors singing what they simply feel as they rub each other and so forth. I do not think I have ever seen anything like that before, but maybe some of you have.

Speaking of the primary actors, they are: Adam Driver (“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”) as Henry McHenry and Marion Cotillard (“Dolittle”) as Ann DelGreco. They represent the centerpiece of a loving, celebrity couple. The advancement of the plot is told in sequences of what they do as celebs; one is a comedic, performance artist and the other is an opera star of sorts. The story is, also, pushed forward through the production of news gossip outlets. Since none of the characters really say or sing anything with much depth, this is what we have to work with. It might sound silly, but it is surprisingly affective if you just watch the facial and bodily expressions that accompany the actors. If there is a third (or a fourth) character of importance, they come in the form of: Simon Helberg (“Florence Foster Jenkins”) as The Conductor and Devyn McDowell as Annette. In my opinion, The Conductor was the most interesting performance throughout the film. I found him to be highly relatable. As for Annette, she is, well, odd. Do not expect a typical appearance, but stay open-minded, because it will make more sense by the end of the story.

Although I was slow to accept the approach of this Musical at the outset, one thing that I never had a complaint about was the cinematography and set design. They combined to take on a timeless, French quality, which is not very surprising, but still welcomed and appreciated. This style has become pretty familiar inside of the 21^stcentury of moviemaking and does not seem to have worm out its welcome, if I may de allowed to sound somewhat redundant.

As I tried to imply, the style of singing grew on me, but many of the numbers, themselves, were pretty forgettable. There is one song that reprises itself several times and is, no doubt, the most important song in the Musical, but it is really the only one that I still replay in my head days after I first experienced “Annette.”

What I gathered from this movie is that love and success tend to flutter in and out of the worlds of reality and ideology. The primary characters involved are literal in their words, but seem to be in and out of touch with what is around them. The only one who seems to stay grounded is The Conductor (and, eventually, Annette). She unleashes a few surprises, especially at the end, and it spells a very tragic undoing for Henry McHenry. All along, he was never who we thought he was and neither was the world around him. If you pay close attention, it all make sense in the end, I repeat!

Dare I say that the trend of making films which are seemingly too long is continuing in the year of 2021…? Yes, I most certainly do! I believe that “Annette” will garner plenty of accolades in the months ahead, but I do not think I have seen the year’s best film, either. Not yet, anyway. The off-beat nature of this Musical will definitely rub many moviegoers the wrong way. I saw quite a few walk out before the halfway point, myself. However, the critics are eating this one up and, in certain portions, will likely continue to do so. I have found myself renting in the middle of the two: I did not hate this film, but I did not love it, either. I was impressed with certain details, from a technical standpoint and enjoyed the difficult acting performances, but overall, it is simply good and not great, from my perspective.

Director: Leos Carax

Screenwriters: Ron Mael, Russell Mael and Carax

Cinematographer: Caroline Champetier (“Agnus Dei”)

Starring: Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, Simon Helberg, Devyn McDowell and Angele as one of the Six Accuser Chorus

Distributor: UCG Distribution (France)

Release: July 6^th, 2021 (Cannes) and July 7^th, 2021 (France); August 6^th, 2021 (United States) and August 20^th, 2021 (Amazon Prime)