Visionary filmmaker Leos Carax (Holy Motors) has made an epic musical about the pitfalls of fame and fortune in Hollywood. Starring Oscar nominee Adam Driver (Marriage Story) and Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose), Annette features music and story from legendary electro pop duo Sparks — brothers Ron and Russell Mael — and also features a brilliant turn from Jewish actor and Big Bang Theory star Simon Helberg.

Annette follows the lives of Henry (Driver) and Ann (Cotillard ), two people who find themselves in a whirlwind love affair overnight. The glamorous lives of the seemingly perfect celebrity couple — he is a provocative stand-up comic and she an internationally renowned opera singer — take an unexpected turn when Ann falls pregnant and then gives birth to the couple’s daughter Annette who is born with a mysterious gift.

As the years go by, the couple who were once a symbol of passion and true love start to drift apart, leading to a series of destructive rows between them. As their relationship disintegrates Ann and Henry scramble to find that initial fire that brought them together by taking a romantic trip on a yacht, but is it already too late?

This is a truly unforgettable production from Carax who delivers a chilling story of jealousy, deceit and cold-blooded murder. Annette is an unabashedly spectactacular production in which all dialogue is sung, much in the Jacques Demy tradition (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort). The Mael brothers make several appearances through the film playing assorted peripheral characters — trying to guess where they pop up next is an amusing exercise.

This is a truly inspiring production from Carax and Sparks who have given us a commendably dense, complex and beautifully acted production. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I found it rather thrilling.