''Annette'' is a 2021

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

romantic

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by

Leos Carax Alex Christophe Dupont (born 1960), best known as Leos Carax (), is a French film director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was ''Boy Meets Girl (1984 film), Boy Me ...

in his English-language directorial debut. The film's story and music were written by

Ron Mael Ronald David Mael (born August 12, 1945) is an American musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is the keyboard player and principal songwriter in the band Sparks (band), Sparks, which he founded with vocalist, occasional songwrit ...

Russell Mael Russell Craig Mael (born October 5, 1948) is an American singer best known as the lead singer for the band Sparks (band), Sparks, which he formed in 1971 with his elder brother Ron Mael. Mael is known for his wide vocal range, in particular his f ...

, with lyrics co-written by Carax. The film, which has been described as a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

, follows a stand-up comedian ( Adam Driver) and his opera singer wife (

Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress who has appeared in both European and Hollywood productions. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Marion Cotillard, various accolades, including an Ac ...

), and how their lives are changed when they have their first child.

Simon Helberg Simon Maxwell Helberg (born December 9, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. From 2007 to 2019, he played Howard Wolowitz on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Support ...

and Devyn McDowell also appear. An

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint vent ...

between

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, ''Annette'' was premiered on 6 July 2021 as the opening film at the

2021 Cannes Film Festival The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American filmmaker Spike Lee was invited to be the president of the jury for the main competition for the fes ...

, where Carax received the Best Director award. It was released in France the next day by UGC Distribution and in the United States on 20 August by

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

. The film received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

After a swift courtship, provocative stand-up comedian Henry McHenry publicly declares his engagement to world-famous soprano Ann Desfranoux. Shortly afterwards, Ann gives birth to their daughter Annette, portrayed by a wooden

marionette A marionette ( ; ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by ...

puppet. The marriage becomes rocky when Henry begins to take care of Annette while Ann's career flourishes and takes her overseas. Later, Ann has dreams about six women who come forward with allegations of past abuse at the hands of Henry and nightmares about Henry almost killing her. Back home, Henry's career begins to spiral, exacerbated by an onstage meltdown, and he comes to resent Ann's continued success. The two schedule a private cruise with the goal of mending their relationship. However, the cruise ends in disaster when Ann falls overboard during a stormy night after Henry drunkenly forces her to waltz with him. After realizing that his wife is dead, Henry and Annette get to an island using a lifeboat. There, both fall asleep, when Ann's ghost suddenly appears and gives her voice to infant Annette as a form of revenge, so she can haunt Henry. Though cleared of legal suspicion for Ann's death, Henry finds himself at a financial dead-end without her income. He contacts Ann's former accompanist, revealing Annette's singing voice and suggesting they use her gift for a musical act. The accompanist reluctantly agrees, having been in love with Ann, and as they tour, Baby Annette becomes a worldwide hit. Henry continues to drink heavily and stay out late, haunted by memories of Ann. One night, when returning home, Henry overhears Annette singing a rendition of “We Love Each Other So Much”, which was Ann and Henry's song. He confronts the accompanist, who implies that he is Annette's real father. In retaliation, Henry drowns him in the backyard pool, witnessed by Annette from her bedroom window. Henry plans one final performance at the " Hyperbowl" halftime show, but Annette refuses to sing, instead declaring, "Daddy kills people," to the packed stadium. Henry is tried and convicted. A few years later, Annette visits her father in prison. Annette, suddenly portrayed by a living human girl, denies his attempts of reconciliation and even blames her mother for using her to get revenge. She tells him that he now has "nothing to love". After the living Annette leaves, the Annette puppet lies lifeless on the floor.

Cast

* Adam Driver as Henry McHenry *

as Ann Defrasnoux **Catherine Trottmann as Ann's singing soprano voice *

as The Accompanist *Devyn McDowell as Annette **Hebe Griffiths as the singing voice of Annette's puppet form. * Angèle, Kiko Mizuhara, Julia Bullock, Claron McFadden, Noémie Schellens and Natalie Mendoza as the Six Accuser Chorus *

Natalia Lafourcade María Natalia Lafourcade Silva (; born 26 February 1984) is a Mexican singer and songwriter who performs in genres such as pop rock, jazz, and folk music. Since her debut in 2002, she has been one of the most influential singers in Latin Americ ...

LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

Police Officer * Kanji Furutachi as Doctor * Rila Fukushima, Eva Van Der Gucht and Laura Jansen as Nurses * Rebecca Sjöwall as Connie O'Connor * Nino Porzio as Sheriff Garoni *Davide Jakubowski as Sheriff Humprey *

Wim Opbrouck Wim Opbrouck is a Flemish actor and singer from Belgium who is especially known for his work on stage. Early life and education Wim Opbrouck comes from Bavikhove, part of Harelbeke and studied at the Herman Teirlinck Studio. Career Opbrou ...

as Baby Annette announcer *Colin Lainchbury-Brown as Hyperbowl announcer *Geoffrey Carey as ''Ape of God'' announcer * Yasin Islek as Dubai Singer Faruq *

as Russell Mael/Jet pilot *

as Ron Mael/Jet pilot *

as Leos Carax *Nastya Golubeva Carax as Nastya *Rebecca Dyson-Smith and Graciela María as Photographers

Production

It was announced in November 2016 that Carax was set to make his first English language film, with Adam Driver, Rooney Mara and

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

in talks to star in the film. Filming was scheduled to begin in spring 2017. In March 2017,

acquired the film, but Mara and Rihanna were not involved in the project. Carax originally envisioned

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix ( ; ; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the most preeminent actors of his generation and known for Joaquin Phoenix filmography, his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric charact ...

for the role of Henry McHenry, he was scheduled to meet with Carax, but he was too shy. In May,

Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...

was cast to replace Mara, with filming then due to begin in July. Production on the film stalled, with the screenwriters

Ron Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

and

attributing the delay to Driver's commitments to ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

''. Filming was moved to begin in summer 2019. Development resumed on the project in May 2019, with

now cast to replace Williams. In October 2019,

joined the cast. Filming began in August 2019, with shooting taking place in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

and at locations in Germany including

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. Production concluded in November 2019. In January 2020, it was announced that the Belgian singer Angèle was cast in an undisclosed role.

Music

The first song from the score and soundtrack, "So May We Start", was released as a single on 28 May 2021. The film's stars, while not trained, do most of their own singing. Cotillard has sung in previous film roles and has had a musical career outside film, and Driver has sung in previous film roles as well. A second single, "We Love Each Other So Much", was released via streaming on 25 June 2021. The soundtrack ''Annette (Cannes Edition - Selections from the Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' was released on CD and vinyl on MasterWorks / Milan label by

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

: it contains 15 tracks. The ''Unlimited Edition: The Original Movie Soundtrack'' was released digitally and as a double CD shortly after and contains virtually all of the music from the movie as well as demos.

Release

''Annette'' debuted at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

on 6 July 2021. and was released in France the same day by UGC Distribution. The film was given a limited North American theatrical release on 6 August 2021 before digital streaming on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

on 20 August 2021. In June 2021, the film's UK and Ireland distribution rights were acquired by the streaming service

MUBI Mubi (; stylized as MUBI; the Auteurs before 2010) is a global streaming platform, production company and film distributor. MUBI produces and theatrically distributes films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are exclusively available ...

. It was also selected in the 'Gala Presentation' section of 26th Busan International Film Festival.

Reception

The

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website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reports an approval rating of 71% based on 270 reviews, and an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''Annettes experimental approach to its emotional extremes marks an ambitious, if not peculiar, return for director Leos Carax." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". ''Annette'' was a NYT Critics' Pick; reviewer A. O. Scott described it as a "highly cerebral, formally complex film about unbridled emotion" that "masters its own paradoxes. ..A work of art propelled by a skepticism about where art comes from and why we value it the way we do. A fantastical film that attacks some of our culture’s most cherished fantasies. Utterly unreal and completely truthful."

Accolades

"So May We Start" was shortlisted for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

, but not nominated.

References

External links

*
''Annette'' (Feature Film)
on ''Crew United''
Official film treatment/"screenplay"
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