Synopsis
The story of Henry, a stand-up comedian with a fierce sense of humour and Ann, a singer of international renown. In the spotlight, they are the perfect couple, healthy, happy, and glamourous. The birth of their first child, Annette, a mysterious girl with an exceptional destiny, will change their lives.
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Cast
- Adam DriverHenry McHenry
- Marion CotillardAnn Desfranoux
- Simon HelbergThe Accompanist
- Devyn McDowellAnnette in Prison
- AngèleSpecial Guest / Six Women Member
- Natalia LafourcadeSpecial Guest / The Police
- Sinay BavurheChorus Girl
- Franziska GrohmannChorus Girl
- Rachel MulowayiChorus Girl
- Christiane TchouhanChorus Girl
Recommendations
- 100
The Telegraph
Carax has an unparalleled knack for constructing scenes that feel like vividly remembered dreams – some of the images here carry such a strange dual charge, by turns eerie and drily comic, that you find yourself wondering afterwards if they actually happened, or if your subconscious has been playing join-the-dots. - 100
New York Magazine (Vulture)
I suspect that, if nothing else, this astoundingly beautiful picture will stand the test of time. - 83
IndieWire
Sure, the carnivalesque twist of the final hour is a touch heavy-handed, and it’s not the only one. Yet as the movie settles into a quiet, somber finale, life and performance collapse into a single contorted mass and Annette becomes a metaphor for its own bumpy ride. Hovering on the brink of collapse, it’s a delicate dance between genius and fiasco, much like Henry himself. - 80
The Guardian
Annette is a forthright and declamatory and crazy spectacle, teetering over the cliff edge of its own nervous breakdown, demanding that we feel its pain, feel its pleasure and take it seriously. - 80
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 (shot by Caroline Champetier), and by the mix of sincerity, irony and Sondheimian dissonance that animates every sung-through line. - 75
The Playlist
It’s an odd film and a fascinating one—narratively simplistic, artistically complex—at times ravishing and then puzzling, much like the enigmatic films of Carax and the idiosyncratic music of Sparks. - 60
BBC
It's kitsch at times and transcendent at others, but the delicate puppetry and the gonzo ambition will guarantee Annette a cult following. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
Carax’s trademark bonkers magic elevates many of these scenes, to be sure. But there’s also a nagging naiveté, even a silliness to the storytelling that kept bumping me out of the sluggish drama.
