Welcome to another episode of MindFrame(s), the sometimes half-assed but always whole-hearted film conversation. This episode offers Mike Cockerill and I reacting to the gloriously weird Annette, the latest film from the master of the surreal Leos Carax.
Starring Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, and Simon Helberg, this film deconstructs celebrity culture and toxic masculinity in a manner most disquieting. We pick up the story as a cynical comedian falls for a fragile opera singer. Their attempts to build a fairytale existence include having a child, the eponymous Annette but shocking events call into question the very nature of their true commitments. I could say more but there’s really no point.
I haven’t mentioned that this is a rock-opera written by the Sparks brothers. You’ll need to watch it twice. Hopefully, you’ll sandwich our podcast in-between those viewings.