67
Metascore
51 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The TelegraphRobbie CollinThe TelegraphRobbie CollinCarax 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.
- 100New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriNew York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriI suspect that, if nothing else, this astoundingly beautiful picture will stand the test of time.
- 83IndieWireEric KohnIndieWireEric KohnSure, 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.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawAnnette 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.
- 80Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangLos Angeles TimesJustin ChangIt’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.
- 75The PlaylistRodrigo PerezThe PlaylistRodrigo PerezIt’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.
- 60It's kitsch at times and transcendent at others, but the delicate puppetry and the gonzo ambition will guarantee Annette a cult following.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyCarax’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.
- 40Screen DailyJonathan RomneyScreen DailyJonathan RomneyThe ultimate problem with this flamboyant, yet oddly oppressive-feeling film is Carax’s bleakly Romantic world view – even working with exuberant wits like the Maels, he’s unavoidably committed to the dark abyss himself.
- 40VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeIn this particular cocktail, Carax is boiling lead to Sparks’ soda-pop fizz, sucking all the fun from the root-beer float. What does go well with the French auteur’s honesty-insisting earnestness is Adam Driver’s over-committed lead turn.