Film Review – Opus

March 14th, 2025 | POSTED BY Sarah Ksiazek

Opus is a word with a more significant meaning—one that reverberates with the film’s characters and somewhat cockily could describe the film itself to its writer and director, Mark Anthony Green, who also refers to himself as MAG. With his background in interviewing important people in popular culture for GQ, he took his experience and fictitiously extrapolated it to a point to create Opus (2025). 

Opus revolves mainly around music writer Ariel Ecton (Ayo Edebiri), who struggles to make a name for herself at the Level, a highly regarded music magazine.  When 90s music icon Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich) returns to the scene after disappearing for 30 years, Ariel realizes her music journalism dream may come true when she is selected to go to Moretti’s compound to listen to his newest album, Caesar’s Request. She is among a select few invited that, include her boss Stan Sullivan (Murray Bartlett), flashy entertainment gossip show host Clara Armstrong (Juliette Lewis), renowned paparazzo Bianca Tyson (Melissa Chambers), influencer Emily Katz (Stephanie Suganami), and former bandmate Bill Lotto (Mark Sivertsen).  What ensues after they arrive to what amounts to a secluded, expensive, and exclusive junket is a calculated nightmare.

Alfred Moretti has a cult following.  Like other iconic musicians, the fans will live and die by an icon’s words and music, even after they have disappeared on their own for years.  What is different about Moretti as a character is that he is bright and bold enough to take direct advantage of his most fervent fans.  He creates a literal cult, secluded from the world with his own teachings and views held as beliefs by those who reside there with him-men, women, and children.  The cult teachings are not necessarily the film’s focus but the end goal and reason for Moretti doing what he does in it.  It appears that his cult followers are not common knowledge to the general public.  He has hidden away his most loyal fans and bent them to his will, and like all cults, they do as he says.

From the start, Ariel is apparently the only one concerned about what is happening at Moretti’s compound.  Blinded by the experience and exclusivity of it, the others do not recognize red flags or concerning comments.  It is a cult of celebrity—they include themselves in it, observers and participants.  She is kept on the periphery by her boss; she is the designated note-taker.  Being kept on the outskirts, yet being a chosen one herself, places her in a middle position with one foot in and one foot out.  Ariel’s age and journalism background set her up to question everything she is asked or told to do while on the compound.  She is hesitantly picking up the vibes that everything is not okay.

The desolate setting and sets by Robert Pyzocha (Joker, 2019) and costume design by Shirley Kurata (Everything Everywhere All at Once, 2022) sell the film for exactly what it is.  It feels like a compound secluded from everything but is still a harmonious oasis.  The followers wear versions of blue, while Moretti wears extravagant getups with rhinestone accents. Still, nothing tops his costume listening party, decked out in what could be described as a robotic suit of plastic gold pieces.   

There is the inevitable comparison between this film and Midsommar (2019).  They are both A24 films and deal with cults and cult violence.  While Opus dials the graphic violence down a notch, it still deals with being trapped in some place that is not quite right and one person who figures it out while others suffer the consequences.

Opus could also be called Hubris, as the majority of the characters have an exaggerated confidence in themselves, including Moretti and even slightly so with Ariel.  In the aftermath, Ariel has to confront what happened and how much of it was designed by Moretti.  She got what she wanted in the end but has to come to terms with how it came about.  His influence continues on his fans, followers, and her, even though she does not believe it.  Moretti is bad, right?  Or is he the ultimate artist, using his genius to grow his community while having enough of a chip on his shoulder to acquiesce some higher-level thinking to have revenge on those he felt wronged him or are at least wrong for the world?  Moretti is a cult of personality (as the song from Living Colour plays in my mind) who has bought into being more than just an everyday human.  Why would anyone unquestioningly worship him if he is not truly someone with the gifts that lift him closer to being a god-like figure?  There are plenty of post-film conversations to be had about Opus.

A24, Ayo Edebiri, Featured, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Mark Anthony Green, Mark Sivertsen, Melissa Chambers, Murray Bartlett, Robert Pyzocha, Shirley Kurata, Stephanie Suganami