In the world of recorded music and Hollywood, there have been characters of many different statures and morals. Humanity has seen the flamboyant stage presence of Freddie Mercury, the subdued and attentive voice of James Baldwin and the iniquitous thoughts of Kanye West. If all were rolled into one, you’d find Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich) of “Opus.” At Moretti’s desert compound, Director Mark Anthony Green creates an unsettling portrait of a devious listening party with a twist on the classic cult story.
Everybody wants to be famous, at least to some degree. Most of us want to be known, or at the very least, heard — a poignant theme in “Opus.” Ariel (Ayo Edebiri), whose only job is to give story ideas to the more established writers, wants more out of her career as a penman, so she jumps at the opportunity when she’s invited to Moretti’s listening party. Her trip there is accompanied with a floaty score and bird’s-eye view shots of a moving bus, which puts in contrast the feeling of heavenly balance and a sickening sensation.
Green’s first feature has a glistening yet dry look of a glamorous desert that seems to be influenced by “Midsommar” and the third act of “Kinds of Kindness.” However, this isn’t overbearingly similar and adds to the unnerving cult canon. Green’s keen eye as a former GQ columnist shines through as the costumes and colors pop as confectionaries to the offputting energy of the compound’s residents.
Green also has the help from two impeccable performers. Malkovich’s Moretti is an eerie, yet thoughtful cult leader, right in line with Malkovich’s other zany performances, as he performs his strangely sexual songs with an uncomfortably comedic flair. Edebiri’s Ariel continues her humorous young persona shown in “The Bear” and “Bottoms” while adding levels of distressed unknowing in the face of something possibly going horribly wrong.
As Ariel goes around the compound, she is followed by a concierge. Even when she goes on a jog, the watchman is trailing behind, which enhances the feeling of over surveillance while also providing comedic relief. After her run, she is brought to a yurt where the members of the religion shuck oysters until they find a pearl —an apt metaphor for both the try-and-try-again repetitiveness of creating art as well as being a one-in-a-million artist.
The movie is packed with the idea of being something, both in life and long after, a timeless theme. While the movie is very superficial, sometimes even pushing in your face, its ideas tend to want to be seen, which is especially seen in social media today.
While not as scary as other poppy horror flicks in recent years, “Opus” shines. The atmospheric strangeness makes for a fun and, at times, weighted flick that isn’t too heavy after leaving the theater.
