'Annette' turns Adam Driver loose in a musical that falls woefully flat
CNN
"Annette" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, buoyed by the intriguing tandem of Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard in an original musical. The resulting movie, however, hits the wrong notes, repeating mundane lyrics without uttering the words that keep coming to mind, which are "precious" and "pretentious."
French director Leos Carax was honored at Cannes, where the movie had its admirers as well as naysayers. The framing of the story coyly lays out that the cast and crew are putting on a show for you (a musical conceit similar to "Jesus Christ Superstar" 50 years ago), suggesting the need for a certain suspension of disbelief. Nevertheless, what follows essentially misuses the musical format, having characters half-talk, half-sing their thoughts and feelings in stilted song, and employing other surreal devices that prove less transporting than simply irritating.
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