Annette reviewed by Mark Kermode

[@jessechuff]

Theres a raw messiness to certain aspects of this movie that have really grown on me in the days since I've seen it. It's really magical and bizarre and memorable. The conductor scene and final scene are absolutely brilliant.

[@theresechristiansen9769]

On the conductor scene, I found it poorly done. Unfortunately, imo.

[@SlartiMarvinbartfast]

Good to see that Mark finally has a decent Internet connection. No more potato-vision.

[@dandonnelly2381]

@@anjumshahzad8612 shut up ya fanny

[@stellwegleestvoor3562]

In the last thirty minutes everything finally clicked for me and I was touched as I have rarely been before by a movie. Annette has its flaws, I think, but nonetheless, and strangely enough, it left me with the feeling I had just witnessed a unique masterpiece.

[@efdidier]

Wonderful film ! I fully agree with Mark : I have rarely been as moved, impressed, and mesmerized by a film! And i cant help just being absolutely haunted by it. What is so special about it? Maybe the mix of playfulness and freedom in its style with a very well crafted cinematography to serve a classic tragedy reminiscent of Shakespearien or Euripides plays. For me this joint collaboration of Carax with the Sparks is an absolute gem!

[@maxmakesfilms69]

I really loved this film (so much), Carax's films have never disappointed me, and this one in particular was brilliantly human, yet equally absurd. Probably my favourite film of the past year so far.

[@tonyabrookes9931]

Underneath the 'strangeness' was a beautiful story. I had to take breaks while watching it (I'm not a big fan of musicals) but I did keep coming back and now reflecting on it weeks later I'm still moved by some of the moments of the film. The emotions it conveys really stick with you. And that sweet little girl's singing in the scene with her father! Oh my heart!

[@ShyGuyTravel]

I actually did experience it as a great big gag for the most part, including the puppet, which I sincerely took as a knowing joke to the audience. Cynically, it did occur to me that the only reason they used a puppet is because you can’t get a baby to sing, and CGI would be too expensive. So for 2 hours I’m reading the film as an avant-garde postmodern dark comedy (with some good tunes, mind you). In short, I wasn’t enjoying it, until all of a sudden, at the last scene, it goes straightforwardly emotional ... AND IT WORKED. I got teary! Definitely a divisive film.

[@PatatasCuitas]

I think they used a puppet for three reasons : The first one is that the movie is an explicit denunciation of child's exploitation. More specifically, the exploitation of children by celebrity parents and the media. The criticism wouldn't work if they did use a real child. The second reason is symbolic. Annette, until she's freed from her parents, is unable to be a real person, a real child who grows and breathes and lives. This is why she only becomes real when both her parents can't harm her anymore. And the third reason is a way to control the audience. I don't think it's a gag. I think the puppet is intentionally designed to look "weird" so that we don't empathize with it too much and we tend to, well, disregard her feelings a bit. It's meant to show how the parents, the media, the public AND us tend to be so absorbed by the drama surrounding the adult stars that we forget that there are real, actual collateral victims, the children, that we completely forget about. Her becoming a real person is the director's way to sarcastically tell us "Oh, NOW you're seeing her as an actual person. NOW you have empathy for her." It's meant to make us understand that we are part of the problem.

[@pongo5000]

I read into it as being about the struggle of fame and addiction and how if you struggle with those as a parent you can really struggle to see your child as a real person seperate from yourself and how especially if you are famous you can inadvertently treat your child as tool to keep a grasp on fame. Which ultimately prevents you from truly loving your child and I see the character of Henry as the tragic ending to alot of those situations in that by the time you realise your child is their own person and truly want to love them it's often far too late. But tbh I think I mostly read into that from having a not famous parent but an alcoholic one and I think the film can have as much meaning as people want or none at all and it still holds up as an amazing film.

[@GuilhermeSilva-yw8uj]

At the end of the movie i couldn't tell if I liked the movie or not, but one thing is undeniable, the movie really caught me off guard in a good, bad and terrifying way. I guess that's the point of art.

[@Jay-fv2qo]

No, that's not the point of Art.

[@industryfungi6778]

I'm truly in awe over how many people seem to hate this film. Though it's a weird one, I haven't seen anyone tackle such heavy subjects in this way, let alone in a musical. I looked up the name meanings for Henry and Annette. Henry means "house ruler" and can be associated with power, where Annette means "favored by god" and can associated with grace. There are many themes to this this film but one of the overarching ones is the brutality of man compared to the purity of the women in the film. Annette plays on hyper-masculinity and hyper-femininity, all tied up in an dark fairytale opera that I think works beautifully. Through the film you see Henry turn into a villain, but at the end Annette sang that she didn't know if she could forgive either of her parents, which perplexed me at first. When you realize that Ann turned down the good guy conductor who wrote "We Love Each Other So Much" for her, and after a week of their affair she got with Henry. Also, Annette losing her strings once out of her father's control had me teary eyed at the end. The songs were catchy and the visual style of this film was breathtaking. A+ for its cinematography. This was the coolest, weirdest, dark, disney-esc musical that I could have ever hoped for.

[@raisedonpopcornwithgrant9670]

i can’t wait for some film programmer to do a double bill of annette and the sparks brothers because both films are great and share an awesome commonality

[@silobandnj3967]

I’ve seen mixed opinions on it. But I personally loved it. It took risks and it was different. I also like the sparks songs a lot. Really wonderful film, hope to see more like it.

[@brizzolglover7518]

If you hate musicals at over 2 hours this won’t be for you. I loved it and totally agree with Mark’s ear worm analogy. The Sparks have been criminally overlooked for most of their 50 year careers and at 70 plus their lust for life is as infectious as ever….

[@URBONED]

I loved about the first half of the film, beyond that I found the non stop singing, with songs that sounded more or less the same to drag the pace of the film to a halt. Definitely not a film that needs to be 2 and a half hours long. I also found the whole point of the film to be too ambiguous that it felt like it was constantly telling me “I’m smarter than you because I don’t make sense”

[@paddymitchell4995]

This is the best film I've seen in years, it's so weird, wonderful and bonkers.The music from Sparks is perfect for the story.

[@xxbaldycoupxx]

I've only heard the music album and it is pure excellence, it's on repeat on my Spotify. I'll watch the film on the strength of the music.

[@TheDarksamurai2]

Four people left the room I was in. I got really bothered with how unaproachble the movie is to most moviegoers. Anyway, I loved it. The last scene has a feeling of Alice(1988), and that is one of my favorite movies.

[@Jenniferlwarm]

Even though its a bit mad and ridiculous Adam should win his inevitable Oscar for this performance

[@byjordanluke2687]

He has two other films out this year which he's more likely to win for!

[@Jenniferlwarm]

@@byjordanluke2687 I know but it should be for this

[@DickLightning]

This is why I love film criticism and enjoy Mark so much. I would not have watched Annette without seeing this review, the descriptions I’d read were off-putting. I thought this was a strange, singular film and I haven’t been able to stop thinking of it. I think time will treat it well.

[@nubianfx]

Considering it was pure insanity ..i was surprised how much i enjoyed this film, and was quite moved as well. Perhaps the subtext hooked me because i have a .. tenuous relationship with my own dad

[@JrJVintage1956]

Great review as usual Mark... kudos!

[@gred4690]

I really couldn't get through it, not a film for me.

[@Miller14100]

This is my favourite film of 2021. Can’t stop thinking about it.

[@kildogery]

It sounds incredible. I hate musicals. I loved that scene on the motorbike.

[@anarchoautism]

Just saw it today and have a lot of thoughts on it, and I knew was one for something curious and creative after seeing the trailer, knowing Sparks were involved and some of Holy Motors, and I’d say it satisfied my expectations Without giving too much away, whilst this film is very vibrant and energetic, it turns much darker and sadder around halfway towards the end, and the best comparison I can think of terms of unconventional musicals would be Dancer in the Dark, since they both use songs as exposition techniques l to reveal a characters emotional and psychological state. Also reminded me a lot of Kaufman’s work

[@michaeljohnson-hy2yg]

I agree, those songs are beautiful and sensitive. Stranges but interesting film though!

[@nicolasroy8481]

You got my immediate respect for pronouncing Cotillard properly

[@greatpoochini1]

Great review, thanks.

[@folkpine]

Please review The Green Knight Mr. Kermode 🙏

[@brynstarre]

Has he even seen it yet? I don't think it's been shown in the UK yet.

[@rbdriftin]

It's not out in the UK yet.

[@joshgraham117]

september 24th is the UK realease date of the film

[@iggsolo]

Despite enjoying (quite a lot) Holy Motors, being a huge fan of both actors and of musicals I was unable to finish the movie and was utterly bored with it and found its weirdness anything but charming. Maybe. I wasn’t in right mood?

[@ThomSonnyYeah]

Just came from seeing this. Hard work.

[@nikolassodiant2595]

Will watch this soon in London 🎯 Carax is a master of Cinema 🌿

[@AmbroseCadwell]

Batshit to a degree only an established director could get made today. My first thought was to wonder whether it is thematically a response to Holy Motors' gaze into the abyss.

[@GoldenGyroBalls]

Found it overstuffed to the point of it seeming like it was about to burst at any moment and found Simon Helberg's role was terrible but I would be lying if I didn't say I was hooked to the screen of how wild + bold the whole affair was. And that final scene was a real sucker punch to boot. Imperfect but you won't find a movie like this for the rest of the year.

[@killerdls]

Simons acting was great and his singing was well done imo

[@byjordanluke2687]

@@killerdls the conducting scene is incredible

[@ed1rko17]

I was so excited for this movie, and then once I got into it, I couldn't wait for it to be over. I completely hated this movie.

[@-E42-]

i find it amazing and beautiful on the cineastic level, especially in the way the musical numbers are woven into and out of the textures of the film. However, the characters and the plot are very unpleasant, inhumane, with some nods to Peter Greenaway that I am very allergic to. The music is indeed ear-wormy, but extremely repetitive, often quite pedestrian and almost anti-creative. Similarly the script - Very unfortunate, because for about 30 minutes or so I felt like this could be my new all-time-favorite-movie.

[@ReligionOfSacrifice]

I would love to take this child with autism to see the movie with the way you are describing it.

[@kinvoya]

A word to the wise, it has several brief but very graphic and completely nude sex scenes.

[@H0lyMoley]

When I saw the clip, I was like "Holy Motors". And then Mark compared it to "Holy Motors". I have never felt so vindicated. Also "Holy Motors" is an amazing film that everyone who loves film should absolutely see. I may check out "Annette" too. Sounds interesting as heck.

[@johndaniel2435]

Dude, it’s by the same director

[@willfreeland8870]

never wanted to like a film so much but simply couldn’t

[@franklingoodwin]

This film seems like just the right amount of weird. It's difficult to get the balance right a lot of times

[@johnskrip7174]

I really wanted to enjoy this but I thought it was horrendously awful. Maybe I should rewatch it, it’s been three years, but god, I can’t disagree more. I was reminded of it by Mark’s Megalopolis review, I found the whole thing unbelievably unlikable. And now I realize as I listen to his review more I never got on board with the puppet, which I hated. So. I feel bad because I like Sparks but I hated it and I still do.

[@jaaustin500]

Well….Sondheim it’s not, but I liked it.

[@alechats5184]

green knight man

[@Fed804]

Don’t think it’s been released at all in the UK as yet

[@kinvoya]

I love musicals but this is not a musical. It is some sort of bizarre, allegorical, slow-motion (in the worst, most repetitive way) boredom fest. It is exactly like listening to someone tell you, in excruciating detail, a two-hour long disjointed dream which includes songs that often consist of the same few words sung over and over again for what seems like an eternity or what is, basically a monologue set to a couple of almost tuneless, repetitive notes. I was embarrassed for everyone involved with this disaster.

[@nikolassodiant2595]

Oh my God.... you were embarrassed for whoever was involved with the movie 🎥..... This is the most embarrassing comment I've ever read!! You didn' t like the movie, ok 👌 but you cannot take away the amount of work, creativity and love put into this project by the whole crew!! Or you may just be Henry Mc Henry's twin, separated at birth......... 🔥

[@junayedalam6383]

It’s a kind of movie that I think the director throw lots of thing around.

[@ryezio3637]

Sorry, but the Puppet completely killed it for me. Felt like I was watching a Child's Play remake.

[@TheAvizanski]

It actually felt perfect for me, it really fit the surreal tone of the rest of the film, and combining surrealism and musicality is too perfect

[@figgettit]

just no.