A majority of people who read this review probably haven’t heard of Annette and I’ll be honest, I really didn’t know much about it either other than Adam Driver was the lead. With Amazon’s newest original, Adam Driver continues to star in unique, indie-like films that highlight his raw talent as an actor. Similarly to his film “Marriage Story”, Annette allows Driver to entertain viewers with his strong acting and in this case, his mesmerizing singing.
Annette is a tale of two stories – the first half is about the relationship between Henry and Anne, the second half dives deeper into Henry’s introspective self, Annette growing as a person and then Henry faces the music and consequences of his actions. Much of Annette follows the dysfunctional but passionate relationship between Henry and his wife Ann, who seem diametrically opposed both as artists and as people. Henry’s a comedian who likes to “kill” his audiences with his aggressive and extremely physical monologues, while Ann is an opera singer who likes to “save” her audiences with her beautiful performances. Annette is a musical at its core, but is so much more than that. With both leads playing characters that are performers, the first half of the film is a little tricky to follow when they are/aren’t giving a performance, but there’s great beauty in that – which deserves its own praise.
Annette is a 7.0 out of 10. It’s artistically beautiful, it’s original, the singing from the entire cast is EXCELLENT and above all else, it’s an entertaining musical. Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard both give breathtaking performances from start to finish. The heavy dialogue based singing from both actors is able to carry along a fantastic story in a unique way that leads to a great ending that leaves you lost in thought. While I did enjoy watching Annette, I just didn’t appreciate what it tries to do. I’m not the biggest fan of musicals and simply put, this one just isn’t my favorite. If you watch this one, PLEASE let me know your thoughts. If you’re a fan of musicals and you’re looking for time to kill, throw it on and enjoy it for what it is. There’s no need to run out and see this one, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it if you press play.