Despite what you may have seen from Leos Carax, Annette is not what one would expect based on his practice of not having any rules at all. In his films, anything goes. But Annette actually tends to follow a conventional, digestible plot, which, of course, Carax makes his own interpretation of what “conventional” means. The U.S. band Sparks (writers and composers of the film) are treated as second directors themselves in this film, which brings about a molding of sight and sound from two opposite angles. Music and vision are very much treated as two different mediums in Annette. It’s an assault on the ears, yet bears the vibrant images of a Leos Carax film.
The film centers around a vulgar stand-up comedian named Henry (Adam Driver) and his opera singer wife (Marion Cotillard), as they give birth to a child that is a marionette puppet. But as Henry embraces fatherhood, he loses grip on his humor and career, fearing he has nothing to prove of himself. Originally developed as a touring stage performance by Sparks, it is theater brought to cinema. A la Umbrellas of Cherbourg, music is used as dialogue, and dialogue is used as music, and the film dares to blur the line between the two. Much like any of Carax’s recent work, Annette begins by featuring Carax himself acting as a recording producer in a music studio with the band. To some, this might take the audience out of the film. To this writer, however, it’s used as a palette cleanser: an indication that this film will have no duality, but exists in between barriers. The film, at its heart, is about fatherhood and the conflicts that stem from the birth of new life, as represented by the fruits the two leads eat throughout the film – Henry with bananas and Ann with apples. In fact, as this writer write’s this very review, this might just be his most accessible film, and second best (only behind Holy Motors, naturally.)
However, the film’s faults are apparent despite the tread that carries the viewer though the film. Henry is supposed to be an “Ape of God” – an obscene, vulgar, and extreme stand-up comedian. Adam Driver, however, is not that. If you’ve seen his performances, one can tell how affable he is as a personality. In that respect, the character of Henry could’ve been casted better. Despite what was said at the press conference, the film fails to avoid musical clichés, as the music sequences are not impulsive (it should be treated as its own separate dialog, no?) In addition, the story takes too long to kick in. It isn’t until when the couple bears their marionette child when the conflict finally takes shape, which appears far too late in the movie. Despite all this, however, the film is an exuberant melding of sight and sound, one that traverses such an arc that it almost feels like a whole greater than the sum of its parts, making the film all the more digestible.
