Opus
Opus
Starring Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett
Directed by Mark Anthony Green
Ariel Ecton (Ayo Edebiri) is an up-and-coming music journalist who works for the overbearing Stan Sullivan (Murray Bartlett) who doesn't seem to give Ariel the chance she deserves. The music world has been overshadowed in recent years by the looming presence of Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich) who's the most successful musician ever, and who's amassed his own cult following before going into hiding thirty years after his last album. When news arrives that he's finally going to be releasing a new album, the world is ecstatic, and he sends a personal invitation to six individuals to join him at his compound to hear the album firsthand - including Ariel and Stan.
Upon arriving, Stan tells Ariel that she's there to take notes for him, and to focus just on the music, but Ariel immediately notices things are strange - everyone there is clad in blue, follows them around, and seems to have an undying devotion to Moretti that borders on the fanatic. As she investigates further - and the guests start disappearing - she uncovers a shocking truth that puts her life in danger.
A mixture of "The Menu," "Blink Twice" and "Midsommar," "Opus" takes the best of each and melds them into a subpar concoction, leaning on the ideas of idol worship and weak journalism, but never diving headfirst into either theme. The film takes a while to get going, but once it does it manages to get your attention after over a half-hour of sleep, but by then you really don't care too much about the outcome. Only John Malkovich makes the film worth watching, and his committed and outrageous performance is something not worthy of such a mid-style film.
As with "The Menu," "Opus" focuses on a commune set out in the middle of nowhere with no hope of escape, where the employees are religiously devoted to their leader to the point of death, and those invited to the festivities were not chosen by random, but has an ulterior motive. Apart from Ariel, everyone else invited has at one point or another insulted Moretti either directly or indirectly, and once we discover Ariel's main purpose for being chosen, it does bring certain things to light, but in the end it felt more like the writers were trying to be more inventive and creative than they are, and in an odd way asks us to be like the brainwashed followers and congratulate them on such a mind-bending tale that wasn't all that mind-bendy. Ayo Edebiri takes Anya Taylor-Joy's character arc here, but unlike Anya's performance, Ayo's is terribly written, not giving her a lot of characterization other than progressing the film from point A to point B.
As with "Blink Twice," these people are brought to the private commune of a celebrity that's worshiped as a god, and in this case it's Alfred Moretti, said to be the best musician of all time. John Malkovich understood the assignment and gave an A+ performance in an otherwise D+ film, elevating the entire film in the process. He sang the songs (which were actually quite catchy, like the original songs in "Smile 2"), and he embodies the essence of an Elton John-like singer as he moves about the commune in outlandish clothes and gives over-the-top monologues that are equally darkly comedic and subtly terrifying. Again, he is the saving grace of this production, and it's worth it just to see him cook.
Finally as with "Midsommar," the film's horror takes place almost entirely in the daytime, giving a deeper feeling of dread than you'd expect it at night. The mystery, much like "Midsommar," is an interesting one at its face, and as with "Midsommar" the group slowly dwindles without anyone else really caring. It's one of those thrillers that is somewhat engaging when you first see it, but loses its luster after you leave.
The film tries to tell the story of celebrity worship, which is something truly prevalent in today's society (from television to music to even politics), and could've been more impactful if it leaned more heavily into that theme. Instead, it's like window dressing that surrounds the story of Ariel uncovering the true purpose of their arrival, and misses the mark in any impactful way.
It also sheds light on how journalists often report on the wrong thing, with Ariel's boss wanting the story to be about the music, while Ariel sees the horror happening under the surface. Nowadays reporters water down their findings, not giving any real thought to their ideas, and offering surface-level news to entertain the masses while glossing over anything substantial that could cause people to stop reading or watching, but again it's not fully developed here.
"Opus" is a film that's frustratingly bad, because it has a lot it could tell when it comes to celebrity cult-like worship, but doesn't delve too deep into that theme, and would've been a complete mess if it wasn't for John Malkovich's performance.
The Score: C
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