Opus, the feature debut of writer-directorMark Anthony Green, has a moment where we find ourselves in a small shack full of oysters. Inside, a man is shucking oyster after oyster; a sloppy, messy process in which the shucker occasionally stabs himself, but he just keeps on working monotonously. We’re told that this man is looking for pearls amongst this mess, and out of every pile, they only find a few pearls. While Green’s first film, a cult mystery-horror that’s a little bitWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, a littleMidsommar, has a better success rate than this shucker, watchingOpusis somewhat like finding pearls within a bit of an unwieldy mess.
What Is ‘Opus’ About?
Ayo Edebiristars as Ariel Ecton, a writer who is frustrated with being underappreciated at the music magazine she works for. Her boss, Stan Sullivan (Murray Bartlett), seems to consider her a rookie, despite having worked at the magazine for three years. But things start to change with the return of Alfred Moretti (a gleefully flamboyantJohn Malkovich), a pop star also known as “The Wizard of Wiggle,” who disappeared 30 years ago, and is now back promising his 18th album, “Caesar’s Request.” Surprisingly, Ariel is one of the few people who have been invited to Moretti’s massive compound to listen to the album for the first time. While Stan and the others invited to this event (includingJuliette Lewis,Melissa Chambers,Stephanie Suganami, andMark Sivertsen) are completely drawn in by Moretti’s allure and the grandiose nature of what he’s created in the middle of nowhere, Ariel is more suspicious of what Moretti’s group of sycophants is really doing.
Green has a clear vision of the type of absurd celebrity he wants to lampoon here, andhe’s certainly having plenty of fun exploring how easily people can overlook the wrongdoings of famous people when we appreciate their art.Green fillsOpuswith stunning-looking shots, and there’s undeniably a style and inventiveness to what he is exploring here. For example, in fleshing out this world, Green wrote over a hundred rumors about Moretti’s life, including that the pop star purchased and woreFreddy Mercury’s teeth. We also see a book throughout that Moretti’s cult abides by called the “Meditations of Level,” and apparently, Green also wrote this hundreds-page-long book. And while that’s all very impressive and indicative of the vision Green has for this world,not enough of that information makes its way onto the screen.
MaybeOpus’s biggest obstacle is trying to keep the mystery of this place alive while still keeping audiences engaged throughout without providing them answers. At times,Opuscan start to drag, and one can’t help but wonder if the questions to our answers are ever going to come. When we do get those answers, they come off rather disappointing after all that building tension. Again, Green absolutely has a specific concept he wants to put out there,but the execution of how the information about this world is disseminated is whereOpusstarts to get off track.
John Malkovich and Ayo Edebiri Make ‘Opus’ an Exciting Journey
Opusis, however,a fun role for the always great Ayo Edebiri, and she’s an excellent audience surrogate, almost immediately questioning the strangeness of the Moretti compound. We know Edebiri can do comedy, and while she is funny at times here,Opusgives her the opportunity to flex other muscles and show that she makes for a fantastic lead who the audience will immediately get behind.
But, as expected,the real star of the show is Malkovich as Moretti, a grand spectacle of a man who is celebrity personified to the extreme. Malkovich is having a ball here, and he truly is a star you can’t take your eyes off when he’s on screen. Malkovich plays Moretti as both a mystery and likable figure, so it’s understandable why so many would follow him. At the same time, we can tell that there’s something far more sinister and egotistical underneath the surface. Malkovich also recorded the Moretti songs himself, which were also worked on byNile RogersandThe-Dream, and simply put, these songs are absolute bangers. Honestly,Opuscould quite possibly turn 71-year-old Malkovich into a pop star, and fingers crossed that happens.
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Opusfocuses so much on the elusive figure that is Moretti and Ariel’s attempts to figure out what is actually going on that the supporting cast can often get lost along the way. Bartlett is delightfully irksome as Ariel’s editor Stan, and Green’s previous job working forGQreally informs the frustration of Arial and Stan’s dynamic. The other four members of the listening party, played by Lewis, Chambers, Suganami, and Sivertsten, get lost in the mix,feeling more like potential victims than actually fleshed-out characters.
Green Has Interesting Vision, but the Execution Doesn’t Always Work
There are a lot of fascinating ideas Green is throwing intoOpus, and it’s obvious that this is a fully realized concept that he’s worked on for years; not only in the script, but in the extra work he’s done in fleshing out this world.Still, we don’t see enough of that work come across in the finished product, and the ideas here come off as muddled, failing to connect with the audience beyond a superficial level. The dragged-out process of finding out what the hell is going on here undercuts the forward momentum of tension that Green is trying to build.It feels like the film is gearing toward answers, but the longer we wait, the more uncertain it becomes if they’ll ever arrive.That being said, Green has a lot of promise and a bit of tightening of his vision in future projects. There are certainly enough pearls inOpusto make Green an exciting filmmaker to watch.
Opuscomes to theaters on March 14.
Mark Anthony Green’s Opus is an intriguing horror-mystery-thriller that struggles with the execution of its ideas.
