Annette(2021)

Plot Summary

• The film begins with an introduction by its director, Leos Carax, and its writers, Sparks, in a recording studio. They, along with the principal actors, walk through the streets of Los Angeles and welcome the audience to the story.Henry McHenry (Adam Driver) is a stand-up comedian popular for being brazenly controversial and provocative. He tells a sold-out crowd about his new fiancé, Ann Desfranoux (Marion Cotillard), a famous opera singer. He says that he feels she has changed him, but doesn't know how yet. When prompted to say why he became a comedian, Henry says it was to disarm people, since making people laugh is the only way he can tell the truth without getting killed.Later, he picks up Ann from the stage door of the opera, where they are hounded by reporters. Henry mockingly dances for them.Ann and Henry sing about how much they love each other and how fast their romance has progressed- he has recently moved into her mansion, tucked away in the woods- and a showbiz news blurb tells us that they have gotten married.At the opera, The Conductor (Simon Helberg) works not as a conductor but as Ann's piano accompanist. He tells the audience about his dreams of conducting orchestras around the world, and his secret love for Ann. Ann, meanwhile, is happy with Henry, but feels that she doesn't know him- she sings that she fears him, yet doesn't know why.Ann and Henry soon have a baby girl, Annette. She appears to the audience as a wooden marionette puppet, but is treated by the other characters as a normal baby girl. Henry seems to be nervous and unsettled by the idea of fatherhood.While being driven to the opera, Ann falls asleep and dreams that six women come forward publicly to accuse Henry of abusive violence, and that Henry himself crashes into her car on his motorcycle.Henry returns to his tour in Las Vegas, and tells his audience that the morning of the show, he had killed his wife. The crowd is shocked and confused as he goes on to say that he tickled her to death in bed, before attempting to kill himself the same way. He seems extremely unstable and is booed off the stage. After seething backstage a moment, he rushes back onstage to scream at the audience, who scream right back. He realizes he's made a huge mistake- and the remainder of his tour is canceled as his career begins to nosedive. Ann's continues to flourish, though she still feels something is wrong and growing worse in her marriage.In a possible attempt to grow closer, Ann and Henry take Annette on a yacht trip that goes awry when they are hit with a massive storm. Ann soothes Annette below deck and finds Henry outside, drunk, in the middle of the storm. She tells him repeatedly to come inside, but he grabs her and insists on waltzing in the storm. Their struggle becomes more serious as Henry airs his frustrations over Ann's success and his own failings. As they fight, he appears to push Ann over the side of the boat, which kills her instantly.Henry rows Annette to shore in a lifeboat and waits for help. As they wait, the full moon begins to shine on Annette's face and she begins to sing a beautiful aria. Henry believes he must be imagining it and goes to sleep. We see the ghost of Ann, dripping wet, tell him that she will haunt him forever through Annette's voice.Later, the police question Henry about Ann's disappearance but quickly conclude it was an act of God, and there was nothing Henry could have done to save her. On the way home, Henry buys Annette a spinning lamp for her bedroom that projects stars across the ceiling. When he turns it on for her, she begins to sing again, and he realizes he was not imagining her strange gift.Meanwhile, the Conductor has finally become a conductor, and leads a rehearsal as he tells us his suspicions about Ann's death. He reveals they had had a brief affair the week before she met Henry, and that his love for her has never died. Henry invites him over to discuss Annette, and he feels obligated to attend despite his mistrust of him.Henry shows the Conductor Annette's gift, and proposes they take her on a global tour to sing for the world. The Conductor insists such a show would be exploiting Annette, but Henry brushes him off. Reluctantly, the Conductor agrees.Annette's "miracle" immediately becomes a worldwide sensation as they tour internationally. Henry seems to revel in the money and attention she has gotten back for him. The Conductor starts to take on much of Annette's care, as Henry goes out to party in the various cities they visit.Back in L.A., Henry returns home drunk to find that Annette is singing the love song he and Ann used to sing together. He turns on the Conductor, insisting he had no right to teach it to her. The Conductor says that he had written the song for Ann first, and in fact believes he could be Annette's father. Enraged, Henry attacks him and drowns him in the swimming pool, unaware that Annette is still awake.Henry decides to retire Annette from singing, but not before one final performance at the Hyper Bowl Halftime Show. Annette is flown into the stadium and introduced with much fanfare, but freezes up and will not sing. Henry watches as the music starts over several times but Annette remains silent. Finally, she says, "Daddy kills people."Time passes, and is Henry arrested for both murders and completely reviled by the public. At his trial, he refuses to go under oath because he says he will be killed if he tells the truth. He begins to hear Ann's voice and sees her above him, looking as she did when she was alive- they sing together about how Henry would change his actions if he could go back. She disappears and is replaced by the dripping wet ghost of Ann that has been following Henry; she tells him that she is the one who will be keeping him company in jail.Annette visits Henry in prison some time later. She sits in front of him, and as they begin to talk, he finally sees her not as a puppet but as a real little girl (Devyn McDowell). Henry attempts to explain himself, but Annette says that she doesn't think she can ever forgive him. She says he now has nothing to love, not even her. She is removed from the visiting room by the guard, Henry watching her leave through the window. He turns briefly to the camera and tells the audience to stop watching him. The puppet lies lifelessly on the floor.

Storyline

• 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. — UGC Distribution Against all logic, Henry and Ann--he, a struggling stand-up comedian, she, a beloved opera diva--fall madly in love and become inseparable after a chance encounter in bustling, modern Los Angeles. However, all great romances are fraught with pain. Faced with the public's surprise and the dark side of success, Ann gives birth to gifted Annette: the fruit of their love, a miracle, a child prodigy, and the couple's damnation. — Nick Riganas