We've all been in a situation that is clearly on the verge of going south. In the real world, that usually means people are getting too rowdy at a party or a friend's bratty kids are ruining everybody's good time. In that situation, most people have the sense to get up and leave before things get worse.
In the movies, things tend to work a bit differently. Instead of the mundane examples above, characters often experience a creeping dread as everything around them gets weirder, or more sinister, or more inexplicable. Do they get up and go as the vibes get bad? Never as quickly as they should have.
That's a good entry point for Opus, A24's latest film starring Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich. Edebiri plays Ariel Ecton, a young aspiring writer who's been stuck at her current magazine job for three years without ever getting the chance to flex her creative muscles or do anything exciting.
That all changes when she receives an invitation to attend the grand unveiling of pop icon Alfred Moretti's new album after nearly three decades in seclusion. As we quickly find out, Moretti, played by Malkovich, is the most decorated musical artist of all-time not only for his more than three dozen No. 1 hits, but for his eccentric and inscrutable persona.
Ariel is part of a select group invited to a weekend at Moretti's home/compound, which should have been the first sign that something was amiss. She attends the trip alongside her magazine editor, played by Murray Bartlett, and a few others that are essentially who's who of tabloid and musical journalism. She's confused as to how she got invited in the first place, but hopeful that this can be her big break.
Once they reach Moretti's home, it quickly becomes clear that something terrible is going to happen. Everyone's cell phone and laptop are taken under the pretext of keeping their experience "pure," while each guest has a 24/7 "concierge" assigned to monitor their every waking moment. Belle, played by Amber Midthunder of Prey and Novocaine fame, is assigned to Ariel, and I couldn't help but laugh at her continued stone-faced presence, from popping bubbles with her gum outside Ariel's door in the middle of the night to running behind her when she went for a morning jog.
Opus is the latest in a long line of moves that belong to the "Things are getting weird and I need to get the hell out of here NOW" genre. If The Wicker Man, Midsommar, and The Menu were tuned to your frequency, then this is your movie. There are no people burning in bear suits or gratefully accepting their fate as human s'mores, but the vibe is very much the same.
Those films are right up my alley, so I was rapt as I waited to find out exactly how badly things were going to go. Light spoiler alert: really freaking bad! Opus sets the table in the first half for a lot of craziness on the back end, and it delivers on the weirdness of it all in a satisfying way right through the ending, which actually made me make the same face Ariel did when she was confronted with the truth of what her role was in the madness that had taken place.
What are the themes of Opus?
At the heart of Opus is our obsession with celebrity. We as a society want to be near it, we want to be able to touch it and get even the most fleeting glimpse of it, no matter the cost. In this movie, the cost is great.
It doesn't even matter if a celebrity has any real talent. I'll admit that Moretti's songs were actually pretty darn catchy, but at the same time the sight of Malkovich prancing around in a gold suit and air humping his adoring guests was the height of ridiculousness. Opus will make you laugh in the moments when you're not peeking through your fingers in horror.
The scientific term for someone that has the insatiable need to be around famous people is "star f*****." We actually see stars in the eyes of the guests and followers at a few points as they revel in Moretti's music and cult of personality, and they're willing to forgive any transgression or idiosyncrasy for the honor of basking in his glow. One character takes a literal arrow through the shoulder at one point, then hours later is sipping wine and laughing it off. Oh Moretti, you crazy genius.
Opus also has some notes on religion but especially on cults, and how people fall prey to them. There's a bit of Charles Manson to Moretti by the end, and a bit of Marshall Applewhite, the leader of the Heaven's Gate cult of the late 90's. It's never explicitly referenced, but I also couldn't help but think of our current political climate while watching Moretti's sycophants (spelled with an "o" as he helpfully pointed out to Ariel at the opening night dinner). All I'll say about that is that I have no doubt that he could shoot someone on 5th Ave. and his supporters would still revere him.
Are there any standout performances in Opus?
The movie is centered around Edebiri and Malkovich, which I'll admit is the reason I wanted to see this film in the first place because both are such delightfully quirky actors and I wanted to see what they could do together. Edebiri's Ariel shares similar DNA with her character Syd from The Bear. They're both ambitious and capable but often frustrated that their talents aren't always enough to get ahead. Edebiri's facial reactions are priceless in this movie, from when she is asked about her, ahem, "lady garden" by one of Moretti's followers, to when she sees Moretti debuting his second single off his new album by encircling and grinding on his guests.
Malkovich is always incredible as the scenery-chewing crazy person, whether it's as Teddy KGB in Rounders or as Cyrus the Virus in Con Air. He was born to play this part, because he's one of the few actors that can play such an insane character with full sincerity, while the audience knows that he's in on the joke and happy to have you laugh at him. Malkovich is the same guy that made the movie 100 Years, which was filmed in 2015 and isn't supposed to be released until 2115, long after we're all gone. That's a commitment to both his art and the bit, and it's why he's so good here.
Bartlett and Juliette Lewis play Ariel's editor and a Good Morning America-type TV host, respectively, and though I loved Bartlett in The White Lotus and The Last of Us, and Lewis in, well, everything, I wish they had a bit more to do here.
That's a small complaint though, because Edebiri and Malkovich carry the movie from beginning to end. If you're down for a weird time with an eccentric pop star and love to watch people get stuck in places that they should have escaped a long time ago, then Opus is the movie for you.