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Annette

100 Movies of 2021

Annette

2021

Leos Carax

Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, Simon Helberg, Dominique Dauwe ...

6.3

5,957

Musical. Romance. Drama Los Angeles, nowadays. Henry is a stand-up comedian with a fierce humor. Ann, an internationally renowned opera singer. Together, under the spotlight, they form a happy and glamorous couple. The birth of their first child, Annette, a mysterious girl with an exceptional destiny, will turn their lives upside down.

	Author	Review
United States	Peter Debruge Variety	"This latest dose of weirdness from “Holy Motors” director (...) It’s not for everyone (...) though Carax’s grand experiment is certainly bold enough to find its share of defenders."	POS
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"Bizarre musical (...) A forthright and declamatory and crazy spectacle, teetering over the cliff edge of its own nervous breakdown (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Dave Calhoun Time Out	"Equally mesmerising and exasperating film (...) 'Annette' will likely have some audiences running from it screaming as much as it will have others worshipping at its altar (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United States	Eric Kohn IndieWire	"Adam Driver is a deranged force of nature in Carax’s mind-blowing musical fantasia (...) Carax excels at using sleek, entrancing surfaces to explore the poetic contours of a dark, enigmatic existence"	POS
United States	David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"The stubbornly flat new film is a strange and discordant creation. The different sensibilities involved rarely mesh together and the songs seldom ignite much feeling."	NEG
United Kingdom	Geoffrey Macnab The Independent	"Adam Driver’s intensity saves this musical from descending into kitsch. (...) a strange and sinister sing-off. (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United States	Justin Chang Los Angeles Times	"It’s hard not to feel stirred, even moved, by the sheer improbable fact of this picture’s existence: Moment by moment, you’re held by its loony flights of lyricism and gorgeous images"	POS
United Kingdom	Jonathan Romney Screendaily	"An audacious folly that comes across as grandiose and joyless (...) Overall, it’s an oddly paced film (...) the ultimate problem with this flamboyant, yet oddly oppressive-feeling film is Carax’s bleakly Romantic world view".	NEU
United States	Bilge Ebiri Vulture	"An altogether weirder, more troubling and personal film than one might expect. (...) this astoundingly beautiful picture will stand the test of time. (...) A wildly melodramatic rock opera prone to insane flights of desire, despair, and dorkiness, 'Annette' is gloriously artificial"	POS
United States	Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times	"A bold, original, avant-garde House of Broken Mirrors take on “A Star Is Born” that at times soars with creative energy (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Ann Hornaday The Washington Post	"A pretentious, arty and occasionally breathtaking musical (...) The thinness of “Annette’s” narrative and the unpleasantness of its music are only underscored by the virtuosity of its central performances (...) Rating: ★½ (out of 4)"	NEG
United States	A. O. Scott The New York Times	“Annette” masters its own paradoxes. It’s a highly cerebral, formally complex film about unbridled emotion (...) Utterly unreal and completely truthful."	POS
United States	Brian Truitt USA Today	"Even a great Adam Driver and cool Sparks tunes can't save the very weird 'Annette' (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"	NEU
United States	Steve Pond The Wrap	"For better and for worse, Carax never goes for half measures and “Annette” never stops being bold and weird."	NEU
United States	Leah Greenblatt Entertainment Weekly	"Is Annette a farce, a metaphor, a noir meditation on fame? (...) it's nearly impossible to witness it all and not walk away feeling altered (irrationally, emotionally, chemically) in some way"	POS
United Kingdom	Katie Rosseinsky London Evening Standard	"This strange and unsettling rock opera is more crowd puzzler than crowd pleaser. If you think you know musicals, think again. (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United States	Ben Kenigsberg rogerebert.com	"In some respects it's crazy; in others it's simple, elemental, and true (...) It's difficult to say where stylizations ends and narrative begins (...) I don't know what 'Annette' is, except that it's 'Annette', and that it's unique"	POS
United Kingdom	Ian Freer Empire	"The most original film of 2021, 'Annette' is a ride like no other, a spellbinding waltz in a storm. See it for truly hypnotic filmmaking, a clutch of great songs and Adam Driver at his most magnetic (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS

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