Misplaced Pages

Annette is the 2021 musical romantic drama film directed by Leos Carax, starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. The film featured original music composed by Ron Mael and Russell Mael of Sparks, with lyrics co-written by Carax, and two soundtracks were released for the film. The "Cannes Edition" soundtrack, consisting of 15 songs were released first ahead of the film's Cannes' debut and was preceded by two singles–"So May We Start" and "We Love Each Other So Much". The "Ultimate Edition" soundtrack was released in digitally and as a double CD shortly after and contains virtually all of the music from the film as well as demo music produced for the album.

Background

Ron and Russell initially conceived the script of Annette as a concept album in late-2010, but wanted it to be adapted into videography–feature film, as "We learned since then that movie people really need the physical, typed-out screenplay. But since the piece is pretty much wall-to-wall singing, we were really in a way bypassing the step of there being a screenplay." Much of their music had been developed when they conceptualised it as an album, and Carax asked them to write few more songs, including "Girl from the Middle of Nowhere" and "Sympathy for the Abyss" which were written for the film.

While initially planning as a stage production, Ron wanted to conduct the orchestra, Russell intended to play Henry McHenry (Driver's character) and opera singer Rebecca Sjöwall providing soprano vocals and serve as the female vocalist, adding that "the origin of it really was that they enjoyed doing the Ingmar Bergman project, but there were so many characters involved in order to be able to tour with that that we wanted to have a piece that had fewer featured performers. So it was working backwards in a certain way." Once the script was adapted into a film, they decided to play cameos over lead parts, giving the roles to Driver and Cotillard which would help the theatrical prospects. For the puppet, Carax had used a real girl for vocals, though Ron and Russell did not intend to, but appreciated the idea.

Carax wanted their actors to sing live for the film, despite not being trained, even though Cotillard and Driver had sung in previous film roles and the former had a musical career outside film. This led Ron and Russell impressed with their musical approach. Speaking to Simon Thompson of Forbes, Ron opined: "I think it is more fun, but not necessarily that we're molding them, but naturally, they're more in keeping with the stylistic approach that we prefer for a movie musical." Ron did not feel it as an artifice of mimicking Broadway performers or reality show talents (such as American Idol), and not that "they are unable to convey exactly the right sort of tone through what they were projecting vocally in the film; it's authentic. They knew what the material was, so they worked to fit their vocals within those musical pieces."

The sound of the film varies from wide range of songse with each scene, as Russell and Carax wanted "the music doesn't necessarily all have to be consistent, stylistically. It can be things that sound a bit more like a band. But then there's songs that are more orchestrated, and ones that sound a bit more classical, and ones where the dialogue is being conveyed in a more sung-spoken sort of way", which became one of the trademarks of the film, which refers to "the music is kind of all over the map in a certain way." He further opined that pop music has a certain form, adding "They're three and a half minute songs in a general way, but that within that format, you should always be an artist trying to push the boundaries of what you can actually do within that three or three and a half minute form. And so we've kind of always taken a bit of pride in trying to push ourselves and challenge ourselves to find new ways to experiment within the form."

Russell appreciated the visualization of the two-dimensional versions in the album, citing two of the scenes. He said "A scene like this crazed waltz that the character Henry suggests they do aboard the ship during the storm, that was in our original version, but the way Leos brought it to life was beautiful and surprising in a great way to us. There had been some discussion of what would be the best way to shoot that scene, and whether it should be done on a real ocean in a real boat, or on a soundstage in a more artificial way . The scene when Henry and the baby Annette wash up onto the island almost looks like a theater piece, done incredibly well."

Singles

"So May We Start"

The album's first single track was named "So May We Start", released on 31 May 2021. The video form of that song was released on 9 July. Russell wanted the song opening the film that was "both kind of in the film and outside in a way where the actors, the directors, the writers, would all be commenting on the fears and difficulties of actually making this particular production". The song was one of the initial music, that was not changed in the script, as Russell said "We always had that idea from the beginning, where we wanted the characters outside of their roles, in street clothing, and musically, it was comfortable for us to come up with. Leos embraced that idea and anything that was off-kilter in presenting a movie musical in this day and age."

Russell in an interview to The Hollywood Reporter had said that the song also became "a de facto anthem" for the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, which opened in venue on France nearly a year, as the COVID-19 pandemic led the 2020 edition to be cancelled; he added "there was an optimism about the pandemic situation. So to have a song the spirit of 'So May We Start,' it was kind of like "so may we start ... cinema getting back together again, the way it should be seen on a big screen in front of a lot of people.'"

"We Love Each Other So Much"

The second single accompanied the soundtrack, "We Love Each Other So Much" was released on 21 June 2021 (World Music Day). The song is a duet sung by Driver and Cotillard, depicting the romantic relationship between those characters. A demo version of this song is performed by Rebecca Sjöwall, featured in the extended soundtrack.

Original soundtracks

Annette (Cannes Edition – Selections from the Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Annette (Cannes Edition – Selections from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the first soundtrack album released for the film, on 2 July 2021 by Sony Music Entertainment France. The album was promotional release for the film, to commemorate its Cannes premiere as the first film in the 2021 edition, followed by the theatrical release in France. It consists of 15 tracks from the original music composed by Sparks, and features performances from the cast members. The album was distributed by Milan Records for the United States release on 23 July 2021 and further saw a CD release on 30 July 2021, with a vinyl edition of the album releasing on 3 September.

Reviewing for the album, Steve Krakow of Chicago Reader commented that the Sparks "continue their renaissance with the soundtrack". Darryl Sterdan of Tinnitist wrote that "The Mael brothers go Hollywood with this sophisticated, star-studded soundtrack". Ad Amorossi of Flood Magazine wrote "Annette comes across as successfully as it does—with caustic, dry-icy wit at the peak of its stagey reality cop-and-court drama—comes down to each of its parts interlocking, a soundtrack bound to its weird and torrid tale, and a mesmerizing cinematic display that would be nothing without a Mael song."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sparks and Leos Carax.

Charts

Annette (Unlimited Edition – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Annette (Unlimited Edition – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the extended edition of the soundtrack album released digitally on 5 November 2021. The album consisted of nearly 57 tracks of the original music featured in full in the film, and six demo tracks being produced for the album. It was released in double-disc formats on 25 November.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sparks and Leos Carax.

Accolades

References

1. ^ Willman, Chris (21 August 2021). "Sparks' Ron and Russell Mael on the Creation of 'Annette' and 'Overcoming All the Expectations of a Movie Musical'". Variety. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
2. ^ Jacobsen, Kevin (20 November 2021). "Ron and Russell Mael on how 'Annette' and 'The Sparks Brothers' 'complement each other' [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW]". GoldDerby. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
3. Dazed (3 September 2021). "The Sparks Brothers on Annette and soundtracking musical sex scenes". Dazed. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
4. Kohn, Eric (23 November 2021). "Leos Carax and Sparks' 'Annette' Evolution: A Failed Tim Burton Musical, 80 Original Songs, and More". IndieWire. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
5. ^ "Sparks fly as musical film 'Annette' geeks out Cannes". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
6. Thompson, Simon. "Sparks Of Inspiration: The Music Icons Discuss The Evolution Of 'Annette'". Forbes. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
7. Dresden, Hilton (27 January 2022). "THR 'Sound Bites': Chatting With the Composers of 'Annette' and 'Being the Ricardos'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
8. ^ Licuria, Rob (21 January 2022). "Ron and Russell Mael on how original song 'So May We Start' sets the tone for 'Annette,' an 'uncompromising musical in all sorts of ways' [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW]". GoldDerby. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
9. Bloom, Madison (31 May 2021). "Listen to Sparks' New Song With Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard". Pitchfork. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
10. Kreps, Daniel (9 July 2021). "See Sparks, Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard in 'So May We Start' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
11. Tangcay, Jazz (7 July 2021). "Sparks' Russell Mael Discusses 'Annette's' Big Opener, 'So May We Start,' and Adam Driver Performance". Variety. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
12. ^ "Cannes Film Festival: Spike Lee asked again to be first black jury head". BBC News. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
13. ^ Greater, Tom (19 April 2021). "Leos Carax's 'Annette' Starring Marion Cotillard & Adam Driver To Open Cannes Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
14. Grow, Kory (24 June 2021). "Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard Join Sparks on Melodramatic 'We Love Each Other So Much'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
15. ^ Oddo, Marco Vito (21 June 2021). "Listen to the New 'Annette' Single Featuring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard in Love". Collider. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
16. ^ Shepherd, Fiona (2021). "Album reviews". The Scotsman.
17. Webb, Beth (3 September 2021). "Annette review". NME.
18. Annette (Cannes Edition – Selections from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) (liner notes). Sparks and Leos Carax. Sony Music Entertainment. 19439881912.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
19. Annette (Cannes Edition – Selections from the Motion Picture Soundtrack), 2 July 2021, retrieved 24 November 2022
20. Jones, Abby (20 August 2021). "Sparks release Annette soundtrack featuring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard: Stream". Consequence. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
21. "Annette: Cannes Edition Soundtrack". SPARKS Online. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
22. Krakow, Steve (9 August 2021). "Sparks continue their renaissance with the soundtrack for Annette". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
23. Sterdan, Darryl (6 August 2021). "Albums Of The Week: Sparks | Annette: Cannes Edition (Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Tinnitist. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
24. "Sparks, "Annette: Cannes Edition"". FLOOD. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
25. "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack – Annette" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
26. "Top Albums (Week 30, 2021)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
27. "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack – Annette" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
28. "Annette: Unlimited Edition Soundtrack". SPARKS Online. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
29. Sternberg, Sabrina (29 November 2021). "Relive the Music of 'Annette' With the Extended Version of Sparks' Soundtrack". Collider. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
30. ^ "Sparks: Filmmusik: Annette (O.S.T.) (Unlimited Edition)" (in German). jpc. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
31. "Cannes Film Festival 2021: Full Winners List". Asia Tatler. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
32. "Steven Spielberg's West Side Story Leads Chicago Film Critics Association 2021 Awards Nominations". Chicago Film Critics Association. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
33. Tallerico, Brian (13 December 2021). "West Side Story Leads the 2021 Chicago Critics Nominees". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
34. "2021 FFCC NOMINATIONS". Florida Film Critics Circle. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
35. "FLORIDA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE ANNOUNCES 2021 WINNERS". Florida Film Critics Circle. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
36. Goodfellow, Melanie (10 December 2021). "'Lost Illusions', 'Happening' lead the nominations for France's Lumière awards". Screen Daily. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
37. "Chlotrudis Society nominations: 'The Power of the Dog' leads with 8 but misses Best Movie". AwardsWatch. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
38. Szalai, Georg; Roxborough, Scott (26 January 2022). "Lea Seydoux, Adam Driver Among Nominees for France's Cesar Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 31 January 2022.

• 2021 soundtrack albums
• 2020s film soundtrack albums
• Sony Music soundtracks
• Milan Records soundtracks
• Sparks (band) albums
• Rock soundtracks
• Baroque pop albums
• Glam rock soundtracks
• Art rock soundtracks
• Rock operas
• Albums recorded at AIR Studios