Annette (2021)

The glamorous lives of a seemingly perfect celebrity couple - a provocative stand up comic (Adam Driver) and a renowned opera singer (Marion Cotillard) - takes an unexpected dark turn after the birth of their daughter when he becomes increasingly psychotic. Directed by Leos Carax (HOLY MOTORS), who won the best director award at the 2021 Cannes film festival. A decidedly unique visionary musical or more accurately, opera. While flawed, its ambitious inventiveness overrides the minor defects. Most notably, Driver is a comedian with a huge following but from what we see of him, he's not funny. He's more of a performance artist than a comic. But Carax's stylized vision (the couple's daughter is played by a marionette) is never less than mesmeric. The songs by Ron and Russell Mael of the cult duo Sparks with additional help from Carax on the lyrics aren't melodic (you won't be humming any of the songs) but they serve the narrative adequately. The movie isn't for everyone. If you swoon over BBC stuff like Masterpiece Theatre, this probably isn't for you. But if you like something that pushes the envelope, that's outside of the box, there's a good chance that you even if you don't like ANNETTE, you'll admire the risks it takes. With Simon Helberg and Devyn McDowell.