Cannes: Adam Driver on singing, surrealism and 'Annette'

In Leos Carax’s “Annette,” an enchantingly demented rock opera, Adam Driver sings in some very strange places

CANNES, France -- In Leos Carax’s “Annette,” an enchantingly demented rock opera, Adam Driver sings in some very strange places. On a motorcycle. At sea. In the middle of lovemaking. “Annette” has predictably caused a stir at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, where its opening-night premiere prompted a wide range of reactions. As you might suspect, opinions tend to differ on absurdist-yet-sincere 140-minute musicals of elaborate melodrama scored by Sparks (the pop duo Ron and Russell Mael) and co-starring a glowing baby (the titular Annette) rendered in the form of a puppet. And yet, if anyone can agree on anything in “Annette,” it’s that Driver is really good in it. Extraordinary, even. For an actor prone to launching himself fully into the visions of filmmakers, it’s maybe a new pinnacle of rigorous commitment. In even the most out-there parts of “Annette,” Driver is ferociously dedicated and intensely physical. He goes all in. And those more unusual places for song, like in the middle of oral sex? Another new experience. “It feels very singular,” says Driver. “Like: I won’t be doing this again” — and then he chuckles — “most likely.”