OPUS

Ayo Edebiri stars as Ariel, a young journalist at J magazine who has aspirations to move up from her current position within the company. She plays into the typical stereotype of the character who can solve all of the problems in the film yet is continually overlooked by her boss Stan (Murray Bartlett) and her fellow costars (you know, because "patriarchy" and "microaggressions"). When legendary musician Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich) makes his first public appearance and releases a new album in 30 years, Stan and Ariel (and a group of 4 other media members) are given an invitation to his compound for the weekend to listen to and discuss the new album before it's release. Once there, the group finds the compound inundated with Moretti's fans who worship him as a godlike figure. The film comments on both religion and celebrity status without poking fun at either but serves more as a warning. Malkovich is purposeful with his character, he provides more weight in his performance with his delivery and words than what's on the page. I digested the ending longer than I thought I would upon leaving the theater and while it does have a twist to it, overall, this is pretty forgettable. The studio missed an opportunity to tie in a great soundtrack with this but sadly only a handful of songs by Malkovich play throughout the film. 6/10