Leos Carax’s Annette was hyped as being an all-singing musical in the tradition of Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), a Palm d’Or winner and a sensation in its day. Well, Annette is not quite a full-singing movie. Though it does not contain any spoken dialogue, it has great chunks of monologue delivered by the comedian Henry Mc Henry (Adam Driver) in his standup routine. He is married to the opera singer Ann Defrasnoux (Marion Cotillard). Their tragic love story forms the backbone of Carax’s film.
The film that Annette reminded me of most is Ken Russell’s 1975 film of The Who’s rock opera, Tommy. Both films have a rock-pop soundtrack and a relatively simple story infused with fantastical elements. All the songs and music in Annette are written by brothers Ron and Russell Mael, better known as Sparks. I used to listen to their music in the Seventies and seeing them in the film (as musicians), they don’t seem to have aged much in the intervening five decades!
Tommy was about a deaf and dumb boy who becomes a pinball champion and a prophet-like figure for his millions of followers, with ultimately tragic results. Annette is also a tragedy. Annette, shown in the film as literally a doll, is the daughter of Henry and Ann who inherits her mother’s heavenly voice and attracts millions of followers. Carax’s symbolic use of a baby doll becoming a celebrity accentuates the celebrity culture so prevalent today.
Since the role of Tommy required just singing and no spoken dialogue, Ken Russell took a chance by casting The Who’s lead singer, Roger Daltrey in the title role and other rock stars such as Elton John, Eric Clapton and Tina Turner in small roles which only required them to sing songs from the film. To give the film some gravitas, he cast seasoned actors such as Oliver Reed and Ann Margaret in supporting roles. For Annette, Carax has opted for high caliber actors who can also do some singing. Adam Driver, who is clearly destined to be one of the greats, is required to do limited rap-like singing. Carax has covered Driver’s limitations by having a group of female backing singers and the audience in Henry’s standup shows shouldering the main singing. Marion Cotillard had already proved in her Oscar winning turn as Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose (2007) that she can very skillfully and convincingly lip-synch to Piaf’s singing. She does the same here, lip synching to the soprano Catherine Trottmann’s arias and doing some singing of her own in non-opera scenes.
Both Ken Russell and Leos Carax have been considered enfant terribles of their time for whom the word “excess” was meaningless. Movies like Russell’s The Devils (1971) and Carx’s Holy Motors (2012) clearly divided the audiences. You either loved or hated it, no middle ground or compromise.
Being a Crax movie, any genre limitations are thrown aside. Though Annette could be termed a musical fairy tale, the graphic sexual scenes belie the genre’s standards. Though, when compared to Holy Motors, the excesses are relatively minor and not likely to divide the audiences as much as Holy Motors did. From the opening credits Carax sets the tone. The audience, that is us, are told: “We ask for your complete attention. If you want to sing, clap, cry, yawn, boo or fart, please do it in your head…. Breathing will not be tolerated during the show.” The first scene is in a recording studio with Carax sitting behind the sound mixer. The mastero, in full control of the proceedings.
The two main characters, as drawn by the Mael brothers and Carax are akin to beauty and the beast. The beast is Henry, a Lenny Bruce type standup comedian with scant regard for his audience. A darker side of him is revealed when, in tune with today’s MeToo movement, six women come forward and accuse Henry of sexual harassment. A Star Is Born scenario ensues with Henry’s popularity and career taking a nosedive while Ann gains the sympathy of people and her popularity rises. People see Henry as cold, detached, self-centered and incapable of love. We see Henry declaring: Being in love makes me sick. Carax also shows the power and impact of media by inserting TV celebrity news snippets throughout the movie. These inform us of the latest gossip and show how they influence public opinion.
Annette could easily be adapted for a stage musical. The songs are catchy, the story is engaging and the main characters are interesting. The two lead performances as expected are excellent. Simon Helberg also does well in a supporting role. The cinematography by Caroline Champetier, who also lensed Holy Motors, is another plus. Annette is a film which clearly shows a singular uncompromising vision and is likely to stand the test of time.
