Writer-Director Mark Anthony Green makes his feature directorial debut with “Opus,” a psychological thriller starring Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder, Young Mazino, and Stephanie Suganami. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January to mixed reviews before the A24 theatrical release on March 14, 2025.
Let’s refresh with the trailer before diving into the review…
“Opus” presents itself as a film with thought-provoking concepts, though it often struggles to fully explore them with any measure of intricacy. Like many films with John Malkovich, there is a great infusion comedy within the suspense and mystery here. Malkovich’s captivating performance elevates the material, adding a much needed charisma to the screen.
Malkovich portrays Alfred Moretti, a 1990s pop legend who, per the description of publicity manager Soledad Yusef (Tony Hale), dominated the global music scene. With over a dozen successful albums, Moretti is depicted as more of a transformative figure in the vein of a David Bowie—an artist whose influence extended beyond the medium of his art.
The script’s premise starts wtih Moretti ending his retirement, surprising fans with an announcement of a new album after a lengthy retreat from public life. In an effort to build momentum, Moretti invites six carefully selected guests to attend a listening party at his remote Utah compound: upstart journalist Ariel Ecton (Ayo Edebiri) and her boss Stan Sullivan (Murray Bartlett) attend from a major music publication. Other folks coming to listen are talk show host Clara (Juliette Lewis), social media star Emily (Stephanie Suganami), Bianca (Melissa Chambers), and radio host Bill (Mark Sivertsen).
The guests discover at their arrival that Moretti’s compound is populated by “Levelists” — followers dressed in blue robes who attend to his every need, creating an atmosphere that suggests a devoted cult. Belle (Amber Midthunder) is the Levelist assigned as Ariel’s personal aide, and Belle follows her constantly throughout the compound. While the other guests are quickly charmed by Moretti’s eccentric hospitality, Ariel grows increasingly suspicious of the cult-like environment and begins investigating the compound.
Examining eccentric figures has been a recent trend if films like “The Menu” and “Blink Twice,” though both do it more engagingly. Disturbing events start to rack up in the film as Bill is murdered during a massage, and Emily suffers a reaction that causes coughing during Moretti’s private performance. Emily swells up and suffocates in a painful death. It defies any logic and when Stan is accidentally shot with an arrow, he dismisses Ariel’s growing concerns about the cult.
The psychological thriller elements intensify when Ariel discovers a barn filled with dead animals and witnesses a disturbing puppet show depicting journalists and critics as rats harassing Billie Holiday. This leads to a viscous attack by the Levelists that claims the lives of Stan and Bianca. After finding Bill’s head and evidence of a planned mass suicide via cyanide-laced champagne, Ariel evades a dark fate thanks to a still moral-minded Levelist when she’s captured. Moretti is set on fire during the climax as Ariel escapes the compound.
Green as a director doesn’t mine the cinematography of the scenes for added tension, and the film would benefit from a script with more compelling scenes and character development. Certain eccentric elements, such as cult members shaving guests, are just random choices rather than tying into a narrative purpose. For “Opus” to fully realize its potential, perhaps it should have told the story from the perspective of the cult members and the outsiders coming in for this event.
Juliette Lewis, on rise thanks to “Yellowjackets,” is completely underutilized here in the film. Malkovich stands as the exception to the underwhelming roles given in the film, performing his own songs (written by Nile Rodgers & The-Dream) and moving through scenes with the other-worldly prowess of a leader inspiring minions to follow him. Edebiri’s protagonist finds herself constrained with the script, but she remains engaging on screen despite functioning more as a plot device than a three-dimensional character.
The epilogue reveals that Ariel has written a successful book about her experience at the compound two years after her escape. In a final twist, we learn that Moretti is imprisoned for the murders, and several of the Levelists are still active in society… spreading their teachings.
The film closes with an unsettling hint that the cult’s influence continues with a TV host wearing a pearl necklace similar to those made by the Levelists. Overall, a mostly generic yet engaging exploration of cult life thanks to Malkovich’s command of the screen.
Letter Grade: C