Annette

A bold, audacious musical, Annette follows a stand-up comedian (Adam Driver’s Henry) and an opera singer (Marion Cotillard’s Ann) as they meet and eventually fall in love – with the very loose narrative detailing their tumultuous relationship and eventual decision to have a child. There’s ultimately little doubt that Annette fares best in its completely oddball yet mostly entertaining first half, as filmmaker Carax, working from a script written with Ron and Russell Mael, kicks the proceedings off with a fairly mesmerizing opening that effectively (and instantly) draws the viewer into the (admittedly hit-and-miss) proceedings – with the compelling atmosphere heightened by the impressive, commanding efforts of stars Driver and Cotillard. (The latter is quite good here, certainly, although it remains clear that the former’s often astonishingly magnetic performance remains an obvious highlight throughout.) And while it’s initially easy enough to overlook the general lack of forward momentum, with the unabashedly episodic structure certainly perpetuating this feeling, Annette eventually (and perhaps inevitably) progresses into a seriously erratic midsection that’s compounded by an almost aggressively overlong running time. By the time the far-from-enthralling third act rolls around, Annette has cemented its place as an ambitious (albeit regrettably uneven) piece of work that benefits from its smattering of eye-popping, electrifying sequences (eg Henry confronts a hostile audience, a stunning single-take shot featuring Simon Helberg’s Accompanist, etc, etc).

**1/2 out of ****