Annette musical on Prime

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 9/6/21 at 2:41pm

I see lots of posts about "Cinderella" on Prime but nothing about the new movie musical "Annette," also on Prime, that opened this year's Cannes Film Festival and took the Best Director prize (Leos Carax). Are people just ignoring it, or too bored by it to comment? New York mag and NYTimes loved it. Wash Post and SF Chronicle hated it.

I thought it had an exhilarating beginning, but quickly went downhill. Quite possibly the least interesting take on the A Star Is Born theme I've seen. For me, casting Adam Driver did not pay off musically, although he played "loathsome" very well. Some of the choral singing reminded me of ALW in JCS mode. The solos and duets were less effective with melody and lyrics getting very repetitive.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 9/6/21 at 2:59pm

I saw it on Prime and I liked it, but didn't love it despite having things about the film that I respect. Driver and Cottillard did a very good job and I liked the ambitious nature of the film as a whole, but some things here and there didn't gel the way I think the creative team wanted it to. But overall, it's something I would see one more time; but not see it over and over again like I did with In The Heights which is a better movie musical.

[degrassifan]

Posted: 9/6/21 at 3:17pm

I want to watch it eventually, but it lowkey sounds like a chore and too high brow/high concept. Plus it’s no longer in the awards discussion. I’ll watch it though!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/6/21 at 9:45pm

Bailed after about 25 minutes

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 9/6/21 at 11:53pm

Saw it the old fashioned way— in a real live movie theater! God was it an abomination with just a very few moments of true inspiration. The huzzahs at Cannes convinced us to stay till the bitter end (and boy do I mean bitter). Sorry to say — Don’t waste your time.

[pmensky]

Posted: 9/7/21 at 12:33am

I really enjoyed this film. What I found most interesting was Adam Driver’s choice to even do it, as its themes so closely resembled those in his previous film, “Marriage Story.”  Both films explore relationships between artists. The difference in “Annette” is that the artists aren’t colleagues, but jealously still comes into play. Yes, the audience in Cannes cheered for Driver for so long after he came out on stage at the end of the premiere that he lit up a cigarette and just stood there smoking while they applauded him. The audience would naturally be filled with artists who could empathize with these life circumstances, so their reaction doesn’t surprise me. 

[bear88]

Posted: 9/19/21 at 4:47am

I didn’t think Annette worked but it was an interesting failure. The moments and scenes that did work only reinforced what felt like a missed opportunity.

Part of my problem was the film’s mix of realistic topicality and full-on fantasy/allegory that is almost entirely sung through. The former undermined the latter, and too often I was pulled into reality by references to A Star is Born, #MeToo allegations, Natalie Wood’s death, and even a Super Bowl halftime show that usually didn’t work and pulled me out of the movie. I realize that was part of the idea, but the film worked better for me when it stayed in its own strange world.

Updated On: 9/19/21 at 04:47 AM