‘Annette’ trailer: Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard belt out The Sparks in musical romance

Annette Adam Driver
(Image credit: Amazon Studios)

Ahead of its release on Aug. 6, the final trailer for Annette has been released, showcasing the musical romance that stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. But, if you know anything about Annette’s director Leos Carax, you can bet that the film will be unlike most musicals you have ever seen before.

Carax is a French director who is best known for Holy Motors, a superbly weird film. What we get in the Annette trailer doesn’t necessarily look too out of the ordinary (at least in terms of a musical), but you can bet that Carax will take it into unexpected directions. He’s already been rewarded for his work, taking the Best Director prize from this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Annette is set in modern day Los Angeles. Henry (Driver) is a stand-up comedian with a fierce sense of humor who falls in love with Ann (Cotillard), a world-renowned opera singer. They form a passionate and glamorous couple. However, the birth of their first child, Annette, will turn their lives upside down.

If you’re wondering if either Driver or Cotillard can sing, this won’t be the first time we’ve seen them do it on screen. Cotillard won her Oscar for portraying legendary French singer Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose and also starred in the musical Nine. Driver, meanwhile, hasn’t starred in a straight-out musical before Annette, but he’s been a part of a couple of memorable musical numbers like “Please Mr. Kennedy” in Inside Llewyn Davis and singing “Being Alive” in Marriage Story.

In addition to Driver and Cotillard, Annette stars Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory), with music from The Sparks’ Ron and Russell Mael, including the song heard throughout the trailer, “So May We Start.” The brothers also came up with the story for Annette, with Russell writing the screenplay.

Check out the trailer below.

Annette is an Amazon Studio film that will see a theatrical release on Aug. 6 before it becomes available for streaming two weeks later on Aug. 20. 

Annette joins Amazon Prime Video’s slate of original movies that so far in 2021 have included The Tomorrow War, Jolt, Coming 2 America and Without Remorse. Still to come for 2021 films are a new iteration of Cinderella starring Camilla Cabello and Everybody’s Talking About Jaime, another anticipated musical.

Amazon Prime Video is available to anyone who signs up for an Amazon Prime account.

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.