It’s hard to see from the outside just how strange the cult of celebrity is. When someone rises to the level of fame that creates a true ‘movement’ around their art, an entire society, sometimes even the world, gets caught up in the ideas of their genius. We rarely get a moment to look at this, and what it means or could lead to, because we are all under the spell.Opuswants to solve that problem, with writer/director Mark Anthony Green holding a mirror to this phenomenon from the very first frames of the movie. We watch in slow motion as people of all ages and walks of life ‘rock out’ to some pop-phenom’s music. Becoming the observer of this makes it all instantly silly, strange, and a bit creepy.
But it’s not that weird. We’ve seen fans drooling, falling, and dying for glimpses of their celebrity idols for decades. Just think back to Elvis or The Beatles. Just think recently about Taylor Swift or Beyoncé. What makesOpusdifferent (well, one of the things) is that we aren’t a part of this particular craze, so we finally get to see how strange it really is.
Building a Fictional Cultural Phenomenon
Opus is a psychological thriller film where a young writer is drawn into the secluded world of a legendary pop star who vanished decades ago. As she navigates a landscape filled with devoted followers and intrigued journalists, she uncovers the depths of the star’s enigmatic agenda.
John Malkovich starsas Alfred Moretti, a pop star sensation and musical genius who seems to be this universe’s combination of David Bowie, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Liberace, Andy Warhol, and Michael Jackson. It’s hard to say which, if any, of these Moretti is. Maybe he’s just all of them. In every sense, this universe looks like ours, and yet they have this massively important cultural icon we’ve never heard of. Moretti’s impact on their world is religious.
All 9 A24 Movies on the Way in 2025
Amid today’s big-budget spectacles, there is one studio that remains committed to creating art: A24.
Opusasks the audience, what if Bob Dylan decided to parlay his work into something evil? Instead of rejecting folk and turning to electric rock, what if he decided to vanish for decades and build a cult? What if Madonna formed a religion and became an actual Bond villain? It’s a playful idea with interesting implications. Along the way, we look at the very unhealthy patterns in our relationship to fame. Not just fleeting fame, but the fame earned by actual transcendent talent.
The big word of the day, and the film literally spells it out for us, is sycophant. There are sycophants around Moretti in the guise of his cult followers and his fans, but Mark Anthony Green’s script reminds us that people like Moretti make sycophants of us all. When we discuss the greatness of infamous artists, like Michael Jackson or Roman Polanski, we all have the ability to somehow disregard the darkly illegal moments and simply recognize the genius at work.
John Malkovich Is a Cult Leader You’d Want to Follow
Malkovich is perfect as Moretti. you’re able to see why Charlie Kaufman wanted to capitalize on Malkovich’s uniquehimnessin the 1999 masterpiece,Being John Malkovich. InOpus, you truly buy that he’s this unique combination of talented, singular, and definitely crazy. ButOpusisn’t just about Moretti. He’s seenthrough the lens of Ariel Acton (Ayo Edbiri), a young journalist who wants to write a novel instead of writing about famous people.
A strange YouTube video from Moretti’s agent (Tony Hale) announces that the great Moretti is back after a long hiatus with a new album. He invites a few elite members of the music media world to his compound to experience an exclusive release event. Ariel joins her boss, Stan Sullivan (Murray Bartlett), at the event alongside an influencer (Emily Katz), a TV journalist (Juliette Lewis), a seasoned paparazzi (Melissa Chambers), and a grouchy podcaster (Mark Siversten).
15 Underrated Music Biopics That Hit All the Right Notes
These hidden musical biopics capture the essence of legendary artists and their struggles to the top.
Ariel doesn’t belong in this group and nobody is sure why she was granted the invite. Stan insists she simply appreciate the opportunity and take notes for his big piece. But Ariel is immediately drawn to the weirdness of the cult, wanting to do a second piece about what Moretti and his disciples call “levelism.” She is asking questions, taking careful notes, and seeing things a bit more clearly than the others, who are themselves deeply ensconced in the culture of worship around Moretti. This is all by villainous design.
The Story of Caesar’s Request
The name of Moretti’s album isCaesar’s Request,which gets a very interesting interpretation from the film’s dueling main characters, Moretti and Ariel, one of many cases where the movie is a bit obvious in its meaning. The version of the story we get in the film is of a young Caesar’s capture by pirates, where he famously forced them to up the rate of his bounty. Caesar’s friends would pay said ransom, and later Caesar would exact his revenge by murdering all the pirates.
The interesting notes left out of the story in the film are that the 25-year-old Caesar befriended the pirates while their captive, and told them on multiple occasions that he would come back once free and murder them all. Legend has it they laughed this off, their charismatic captive seemingly just a funny guy. There is a ‘scorpion and the frog’ quality to the ancient real-life parable, and the details left out inOpusactually make it even more relevant to the idea of cozying up too close to these types of figures.
10 Best Original Songs Written for A24 Films
These songs highlight how A24 specifically uses its musical arrangements to strengthen the digestion of its films.
Things get more and more ‘A24’as Ariel’s questions lead to unsettling answers and patterns of behavior become increasingly dangerous and violent. Things build to a crescendo in a haunting sequence depicting the creepiest child’s puppet show you’ll ever see about the tragic life of genius musician Billie Holliday. The metaphors are laid on thickly and without subtlety inOpus.
The flaws of the film lie in some of the leaps of faith audiences have to take to buy the extreme actions and circumstances that take place. Some will not find it all that far-fetched given the aforementioned nature of celebrity. Others are likely to think it borderline absurd. There is a balance in the execution between playfulness and serious warning, and at times the film slips too far into one area to work as well in the other. There is also a somewhat complex scheme behind all the things that happen during the course of this special release retreat, and it’s a bit hard to buy when you look back at it closely.
‘Opus’ in Our Time
Opuscomes at an appropriate time. Beyond the thrills, chills, and dark awkward humor, the film asks very pertinent questions. The current President of the United States rose to prominence as a cultural symbol many decades ago. He is a far cry from an accomplished or talented artist. But he is someone with a cult of fame. He is a product of a society that worships a performer, and will buy any bridge a famous huckster is selling. Furthermore, our movie theaters areconstantly populated with biopics, especially about musical artists we love.
25 Best Horror Cult Movies, Ranked
Horror movies centered around sinister religious sects date back to the 1950s. Here’s a closer look at the best of the best in this unique subgenre.
So what are we to make of our endless worship at the altar of celebrity and talent? How often do we overlook evil acts, or forgive them, in the name of great works? Can we turn a blind eye towards the alleged actions of genius-level talents like Woody Allen or Pablo Picasso? The answer always seems to be yes. Despite ideas of ‘cancel culture,’ it seems anyone, no matter what they’ve done,can find a way back into the mainstream.
Moretti seems to believe that a great artist is the key to unlocking our future as a species, the key to leadership. He is deeply high on his own supply. How could someone at his level (levelism is the name of his religion) not be? What happens to human beings when they are actually worshiped for decades?Opusgives us a glimpse.From A24,Opusreleases June 12, 2025.
