Dancer in the Dark

Annette (2021, Leos Carax) is subdued, elliptical, and elegiac. Like Holy Motors (2012, Carax), its perspective is from that of the artist. And like the neon green luminous sign from Holy Motors, the color green is the primary basis of the color scheme in Annette. What does it represent? If we think about it, HENRY MCHENRY wears a lot of green early in the film. And ANNETTE has green eyes.

     And again like Holy Motors, this is a movie that I probably shouldn’t attempt to evaluate the same day I saw it. But I will say I love Annette. It seems to deal with existential dread, self-doubt, hate, angst, creative turmoil, destruction, and death. Has there ever been an arthouse musical this dark? Oh yeah, once. But labeling Annette dark, or depressing is lazily dismissive. Like many great works of cinematic art, I’m still reflecting on what I saw in Annette. 

     And aside from other big questions like the relationship between artist and self, artist and audience, desire and love, or motivation, instead how about first of all just appreciating that there’s a movie that can still achieve a pure form of cinematic artistry and be this challenging. And a lead character of such calculatedly toxic masculinity with such a lack of redeeming qualities? This is different. Not all movies have to have a message, and not all messages are easily accessible, but there’s something here and already it’s enough to appreciate.

     But okay, just from the point of view of the artifice and stagey devices, yes the voyage at sea and the little girl Annette are as imaginative in aim as anything out of Holy Motors and sometimes I worry about more and more how hard it can be to find this kind of stuff.

 

8/6/2021 Landmark Midtown Art Cinema

Atlanta, GA

DCP