"OPUS" Film Review
[THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]
I went to see Opus last night and have not stopped thinking about it since. The movie centers around Ariel Ecton (Ayo Edebri), who works at a respected music commentary magazine, “J”. To me, J is a parody of Rolling Stone.1 In this universe, the legendary musician everyone loves, a la David Bowie, is a bald white man named Moretti.
At the beginning of the film, Moretti hasn’t released music or been seen publicly in decades. Rumors started swirling online about his possible return and were then confirmed once his publicist (Tony Hale2) released a video confirming that he is releasing a new album. Immediately, it clicked with me that Opus is short for Magnus Opus, which is usually used to describe an artist’s greatest work of all time. For example, people would say Michael Jackson’s Thriller is his Magnum Opus. This signals to me that this movie is going to be about the process and lengths someone will go to make a great body of work.
The publicist explains that a selected group of people will get the chance to hear his new album before the world. The Editor in Chief, Stan,3 and Ariel are amongst those lucky few people invited. Six respected media personalities venture out to the middle of the desert to the residence where Moretti is staying. Her boss Stan decides that he is going to write the story for the magazine and Ariel’s job is to take notes. It was definitely on purpose that Ariel was Black in this film. Many people underestimate her including Stan. Another person who underestimates her is the nice Asian man, Kent, from the beginning. 4
Upon arrival, it is obvious that he is running a cult. There are many people on this compound, including kids. Indicating that this has been going on for many years. The cult members are called “Levelists,” and they believe the teaching of Levels. The basic teachings of Level are ways to elevate your creative ability to be the best creative version of yourself.
Each selected guest is given a 24/7 concierge who follows them around the compound every second. They also each receive a makeover. Ayo did look gorgeous; I have to give them that.
One of the funniest scenes was when they arrived at dinner, each of them was instructed to take a bite of one piece of bread and pass it around so everyone could take a bite. That bread looked dry as hell. Ayo looks rightfully disgusted but ultimately decides to take a bite. Signaling that she has decided to jump down the rabbit hole.
Moretti gives a speech in the form of a faux Q&A that likens him to Billie Holiday. The monologue explains why he named his upcoming album “Caesar’s Request.” Which tells the tale of Caesar getting kidnapped and the pirates setting the ransom as the same ransom as any old peasant, and Caesar demands that his is raised to be that of a Royal. Moretti claims that the point of this story is that even when kidnapped, a Royal is still Royalty. Caesar then crucifies his kidnappers after he is freed. This is why Moretti decides to invite these specific guests and then kill them.
Moretti has no other option than to believe he is a genius because that is what people have most likely been telling him his entire career. In his mind, an artist’s biggest enemy is the media. They make or break an entire artist’s career. Each person he invited was in some shape or form in the media landscape. Likening the media to kidnappers is something a pompous, self-righteous musician would do.
The entire movie reads as an allegory for Kanye West. The direct correlation is Kanye’s Sunday Services. The band of which he recently renamed “Niggas.” The levelists do not have a service that binds them, instead, it is an oyster shucking ritual in which a member will spend hours shucking oysters to find one pearl. A practice in which the reward outweighs the labor and pain it took to receive it.
The parallels to the lengths that people go to defend Moretti even when he is proven to be a murderer are eerily similar to the die hard Kanye fans who excuse his Nazi rhetoric. It is undeniable that Kanye has made incredible work that has influenced millions, but does that excuse him for being a hateful individual? Whatever excuse people make for him pales in comparison to the hate speech that he spews. Most recently, he has revealed that he is “going to war” with Kim Kardashian for trademarking his kid’s names. He wanted to use North’s name in a Diddy song, and Kim blocked it.
One of Kanye’s worst crimes is making me side with a Kardashian. Kim is a terrible person, but even she doesn’t want North’s name to be in a song with a known child abuser. Nonetheless, there will still be people who make excuses for Kanye. I am not shocked when white people make excuses for him, but when Black people go out of their way to excuse his behavior, it gives me the ick. It’s always under the guise of “we need to protect Black men!” “Black men’s mental health is important!” These people seem to forget that being mentally ill does not excuse you from being a terrible person.
Anyone who sympathizes with Nazi’s or Nazi rhetoric is a Nazi. Full stop. In the same way, anyone who goes out of their way to excuse Moretti’s actions for the sake of his music is insane. Two things can be true. A terrible person can make a good song and still be a terrible person.
A moment that sticks out to me is when the Black woman who gives Ariel the makeover helps her escape. It makes sense that a Black woman would sense some bullshit and help another Black woman escape. However, they lost me when they showed that same Black woman still secretly being a levelist. I think it was intentional that it was a Black woman who helped her escape. However, I am not sure what it means that she is still a secret Moretti supporter. Could it mean that the need to help another Black person is greater than her need to help a white man? Could it be that it was truly a part of Moretti’s plan to make Ariel survive so she can write her book?
The scene where Ariel finally confronts Moretti after her book is out is incredible. Moretti claims to have used Ariel the entire time and that her escaping was all a part of his plan. That was Moretti trying to get the upper hand of the situation and make it seem like he was in control the entire time. He has to maintain his God like image until the very end. He can’t be bested by a woman, much less a Black woman.
This movie was excellently written and executed. Mark Anthony Green has made a fan out of me. Once I realized Mark was Black, it made me pretty confident in my Kanye comparison. I’m sure a lot of different musicians were part of the inspiration, but to me, this seems to be a cautionary tale about where Kanye may be headed. I haven’t read any reviews online, but a quick Google search will tell you that people didn’t like this movie. I don’t think that it was trying to reinvent the wheel, but I think it had a point, and it made it well. It was also beautifully shot and had an excellent cast. My only actual critique is that I wish we heard more of the actual music that Moretti made so we could understand why everyone loved him so much.
Nile Rogers and The Dream worked on this soundtrack. I wish there was an accompanying album to go with the movie. That would have really driven the point home for me. That being said, I think the reason is that it doesn’t matter how good the music is as long as Moretti is a murderer who killed people for no reason. People who were some of his biggest fans. All to make a point that he is a Godlike figure. SMH.
MOST importantly, I need to know how to make my hair look like Ayo’s because her hair that entire movie is how I want my hair to look at all times. My comments and DMs are open I am very serious.
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I couldn’t help but think that if this was real life, my oomf Britney Spanos would be the one to go on this trip, and I know my girl would make it out alive. OBASHATA!
The guy from Veep and also the man from the Beyoncé Verizon commercial (2024)
Played by Murry Barlett, aka the gay hotel manager from the first season of White Lotus
I have been getting a lot of Blasian propaganda lately. God, I’ve what you have done for others.