Annette
“Annette” is a crazy film. It is not a movie, it is a piece of art. It causes the viewer to look at fame and celebrities in a way that is different from the way we are encouraged to view fame and celebrities. If you look at it as a piece of art and not a movie, it is kind of beautiful! But at this point in time, people do not accept films as artwork, they are accepted only as viewing pleasure. To me, that is a crying shame and is why I do not believe that this film will be as widely known as I think it should be.
Most people probably know this, they probably haven’t blatantly thought it out though. Movies and films can be broken up into three acts, or three parts: the setup, confrontation, and resolution. Modern-day plays and musicals usually are broken into two acts, with the intermission separating the two. Which is why oftentimes stage plays have to be modified or changed when filmed for the silver screen. Anyway, the point of me saying all that was simply to say that I thought the first act of the film was excellent, which was probably about 45 minutes to an hour, the rest got away from me though. The first six minutes of the film, I absolutely loved. I thought it was so creative to have the film start with the actors preparing to retell this story as if they have told it many times before.
What first interested me in this film was Adam Driver. He is one of my all time favorite actors and I will see anything that he is in. I thought he was superb in ”Marriage Story” as well as “Blackkklansman” and of course in HBO’s “Girls.” I thought he was good in the Star Wars movies he was in but those, to me, were to increase his fame and not to showcase his talent. I’ve also watched several of his sketches on SNL. He is really funny! The versatility required to do comedy and a drama piece like “Marriage Story” or “Annette” makes for a great actor. Plus, he has also done stage acting and has a Broadway show under his belt. And I’ve said it before and I’ll continue saying it until I die, stage actors make better screen actors. He also has other films coming out this year: “House of Gucci” and “The Last Duel,” so he is on my radar to watch for.
When I heard this was a musical, a “rock opera” of sorts, I was just floored even more! I think we all know what a fan of musicals I am. The Sparks, who wrote the music for the film, did a good job! I think there is something so meaningful and beautiful about letting your emotions out with music. There are some of the songs that I legitimately like and would listen to for fun! A lot of the music did not please my ear but it was necessary to move the story along. Marion Cotillard stars opposite Adam Driver in this film. I only knew her as Mal from “Inception” but upon further research, I found that she is an Academy Award winning actress, and was really really good in the
film. Let’s be serious, though, this is Adam Driver's film as it truly showcases his character arc and his acting abilities for most of the film.
The puppet used to play Adam Driver’s and Miriam Cotillard’s daughter Annette was SO distracting! This aspect of the film is why people won’t watch this, or will stop watching this film, I’m sure of it! I get it, like the daughter is a puppet until the end of the film because she is being controlled by her parents and doesn’t really have the ability to make choices for herself. However, the puppet was so creepy and looked lifelike but also didn’t which just made it even more creepy!
**Sidenote, the girl who played Annette at the end of the film was so cute! It almost made up for the puppet. It may have been that it was just such a breath of fresh air to see a real person instead of that puppet, so that may have been why I thought she was so cute.
The lighting and the coloring! Ahh! I feel like I talk about this aspect of films so much but it was sublime! I love when the subject of a shot is a different color than what they are supposed to be and accents them against the background.
This film has incredible lighting! If you like lighting, this film gives you what you want!
You know how old operas and theater experiences have somewhat extreme story-lines? Immediately, I think of those of Don Giavonni and even Hamlet. They are quite extreme and serious storylines. That is similar to how this film is. It paints the happenings as just lifestyles of the rich and the famous and somewhat tries to normalize them. They are extreme happenings, though, happenings one would not expect to see in real life, which almost makes this film seem like a fairy tale or an other-worldly experience.
Now that I’ve had some time to think about this film and remember it as art rather than just sheer entertainment, I like it more! This film, unfortunately, is not for everyone, most people, I would say. If you are a fan of artistic film, though, and films that you have to explore and think about, this is for you.
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