‘Opus’ has the right idea, but right ideas alone don’t make for a good movie

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — I’ve heard of Behind the Music, but never like this!

Synopsis

Opus follows entertainment journalist Ariel Ecton (Ayo Edebiri), who’s trying to get her big break after years of unsuccess. She gets the chance when she and her boss Stan (Murray Bartlett) are invited to the resort of reclusive musician Moretti (John Malkovich) to celebrate the release of his first album in 30 years. When Ariel arrives at the estate, she immediately realizes something is off when Moretti and his fans exhibit bizarre cult-like behavior.

My thoughts

We all have certain artists or celebrities we’re fans of. Whether they’re actors, filmmakers, musicians, athletes, entrepreneurs, influencers, or even politicians, if there’s a famous person, then they have some fanatics out there. It’s just human nature, and the more fans these celebrities cultivate, the more power they hold over them. Just think about all the crazy things people have done all in the name of fandom over the years.

Imagine if your favorite singer or band invited you to come to their private resort, wine and dine with them, party with them, and even listen to their new album with them. Sounds pretty awesome, right? Well, it does at first, until all communication is cut off, people start disappearing, and your favorite artist exhibits cult-like behavior and influence over you and his other fans. Perhaps it’s about more than just the music, but not in a good way.

Trying to make your point

This is writing and directing debut of Mark Anthony Green, deriving the concept of Opus from his real-life experiences as a style columnist for GQ. He’s seen firsthand how self-absorbed and egotistical celebrities can be and even more alarming, how their fans will fall in lockstep with pretty much everything they do, perceiving them as infallible figures who can do no wrong.

Well, writing and directing debuts can go one way or the other: they either impress or they don’t, and unfortunately, it shines through every frame that this is Green’s first feature film. Not only does he fail to make his argument about toxic fandoms and cults of personality in an interesting way, but as a thriller/horror film, it lacks any semblance of genuine tension, atmosphere, or mystery.

I can’t vouch for Green’s writing for GQ, but just because you’re a talented writer in one medium doesn’t mean that transfers over to others, especially when writing an entire feature-length screenplay. The seeds of a good story are there because I agree with Green’s points about morally bankrupt celebrities and cultish fans overall. Still, as far as a compelling storyline and characters go, there’s just nothing.

It doesn’t help that, pretty much right off the bat, you know exactly where this movie is going to go because you’ve seen it so many times before. Midsommar, The Menu, Blink Twice, and other movies have all done this exact same narrative where we get a social satire featuring characters going to some far-off location only to get wrapped up in something nefarious.

Cult of personality

Like those other movies I mentioned, there are a lot of characters all played by some decent actors, but all they really do is act dumb and confused until it’s all too late. Great actors like Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, and Peter Diseth are totally wasted, even if they’re perfectly cast for their characters. With the casting of Diseth, Green must be a fan of Better Call Saul since Jean Effron also makes an appearance.

Ayo Edibiri does her best, but Ariel is such a flat character that she doesn’t get to do much other than act scared or confused like everyone else, but at least she’s not dumb. Her character arc isn’t even achieved in any sort of satisfying way, mostly because the resolution to everything is so slapdashedly cobbled together. Green’s direction and the editing from Ernie Gilbert are incredibly clunky, where the ending feels both rushed and dragged on for way too long. It’s also absolutely silly.

John Malkovich was the perfect choice for an eccentric, reclusive pop star who forms a huge cult following, and he brings the Malkovichness you expect. Moretti is supposed to be a flamboyant, larger-than-life figure reminiscent of Prince, David Bowie, and Michael Jackson, with Malkovich totally nailing it. The wonderfully garish costume design from Shirley Kurata complimented Moretti’s pompous attitude, making him the only character who really works. It makes sense, as I’m sure Green interviewed all sorts of people like him throughout his career.

For a musician, Moretti’s music isn’t really anything to write home about, least of all joining a cult over. Well, I guess it’s not Moretti’s music, but the music of Nile Rodgers and The-Dream, who I don’t think were the right picks for this project. With the way Malkovich plays Moretti, you can see why he got such a huge following, but when you hear his music, it’s like, “This is it?” It doesn’t even sound like music that would have been massive, worldwide hits during the time of its release, especially compared to the works of Prince, Bowie, and Jackson.

Final verdict

It’s too bad that Opus wound up being such a sloppy, confused, and generic mess because what Mark Anthony Green is trying to say with it is a message that many people desperately need to hear. That’s the catch when it comes to making a movie that’s a social satire: people won’t care if they’re bored, so the movie itself also has to be good to make an impact. Opus ends up being like a politician who’s saying what you want to hear but isn’t saying anything at all.