Opus (2025)
Directed by: Mark Anthony Green
Premise: A junior magazine reporter (Ayo Edebiri) and a group of other media figures are summoned to the compound of a pop superstar (John Malkovich) who is preparing to release his first album in decades. The reporter suspects something sinister is afoot.
What Works: The greatest strength of Opus is its casting. The film is led by Ayo Edebiri as a journalist struggling to make a name for herself at an established media and culture magazine and Edebiri gauges her performance with a mix of paranoia and fascination. When the press pool arrives at the pop star’s compound they discover that it has become home for the fictional Levelism cult which has shades of real-life cults NXIVM and Scientology. Edebiri’s character is the one who suspects something is off but as the junior correspondent she’s marginalized and the filmmakers pick up on Edebiri’s nonverbal tells, revealing her frustration and fear. The premise of Opus mixes cults of celebrity with cults of superstition. It’s an interesting concept and there are some notable details happening around the edges of the film; a lot of the followers and support staff are native people, hinting at the way indigenous cultures have been coopted by artists and new age superstition.
What Doesn’t: Opus’ dramatization of our cultish devotions to celebrity and superstition is ultimately superficial. Nothing here is explored is any depth. Better films about cults such as The Wicker Man and Midsommar and Martha Marcy May Marlene explore the way people are seduced and how belief becomes reality. None of that is covered in Opus. It’s obvious that the Levelist community is a cult and there’s no interrogation of their beliefs or the significance of being led by a celebrity. Instead we get their leader revealing portions of his new music album. That ends up being the fatal weakness of Opus. It’s never convincing that this community—and indeed the world—would be in love with this musician and his art. The songs we hear don’t suggest any mystery or vision that would inspire this devotion. John Malkovich is cast as the leader and although he does a good job Malkovich is ultimately miscast in this role. He’s not believable as a pop musician and it’s not convincing that the world would get excited for his work after decades of inactivity. Stories about cults are typically slow burn stories that draw out the tension. Opus gets too violent too fast and in the end we’re left wondering about the point of it all. There is an internal logic to the events but the chaos and violence feel perfunctory.
Bottom Line: Opus doesn’t follow through on its provocative central idea and key parts of the movie are unbelievable. It has some interesting pieces but the whole doesn’t come together.
Episode: #1040 (March 23, 2025)