Fabian’s review published on Letterboxd:
At this point, it has probably been firmly established that Leos Carax is not for everyone, and I have no idea how anyone could have anticipated Annette to be a hit with audiences, even though it being a musical and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard might at least have indicated a little more accessibility than Carax' previous films.
Ultimately, Annette is one of those films that I find really hard to settle on a rating for, let alone write a coherent review for. It's a uniquely personal experience, one that will entirely be determined by your willingness to spend 140 minutes with a bizarre, non-linear opera drama with an energetic Sparks soundtrack and an unhinged Adam Driver performance.
For me, the experience was almost entirely enhanced by Carax' aesthetic approach and the sound characteristics; it's the result of a director exploring his creative freedom and applying tricks and twists to his camerawork that turn his film into an original, unusual and never-before-seen mashup of dreamlike cinematic absurdities. Is this for everyone? No, the polarizing responses by audiences and critics have probably indicated as much. Is it worth watching to draw your own conclusion? Absolutely.
