ANNETTE

Leos Carax lets the audience down by stretching out a simplistic narrative over two hours and all but ignoring the most intriguing themes in there.

There is a certain irony to the fact that a movie opening with a musical number named Now May We Start doesn't actually get out of first gear until well past the midway mark. And even when Annette finally comes up with plotlines and characters you actually care for, director Leos Carax is often more occupied with visual trickery than he is with making an emotional connection with the audience.

To be fair, the production design, the cinematography and the editing are all top-notch and show once again that Carax is one of the more interesting, inventive directors out there. But he lets himself and the viewer down by stretching out a simplistic narrative over two hours and all but ignoring the most intriguing themes in there. The songs by cult British band Sparks also lack, well, a true 'spark' as they are annoyingly on the nose with lyrics like 'We love each other so much' and 'I am the conductor'.

All of this sets Annette sadly apart from the other, equally eclectic works in Carax' oeuvre: instead of being lured into a second viewing to discover hidden meaning, I found the picture so obviously monotone, I doubt I'll ever rewatch it.

release: 2021

director: Leos Carax

starring: Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, Simon Helberg, Devyn McDowell