Anomalisa Film Review

Transcript:

Anomalisa is a stop-motion drama written by the Charlie Kaufman and co-directed by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson. It's released in the UK this weekend, find a screening near you here: https://film.list.co.uk/. The film follows a self-help author called Michael Stone (David Thewlis) who perceives everyone as identical (quite literally as they're all played by Tom Noonan) until he meets a unique woman called Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh) at the hotel he's staying in.

I've been a massive fan of Charlie Kaufman for years. His meta-textual, introspective writing for films such as Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind made those films modern classics and his directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York, further cemented his status as one of the most interesting and out-there film-makers working today.

I was really, really pleased with this film and it was my choice for best animated feature film at the Academy Awards - check out my Oscars video here: https://youtu.be/C-dFKBJS1JQ. First and foremost the animation is incredible. Visually the film has a unique blend of the realistic and the fantastical.

For example the character models, which were made using 3D printers, are incredibly expressive and realistic looking but the director's choose to show the moving plates of their faces. Little effects such as these - or others such as a steamed up mirror, an airplane moving through clouds or hair moving from side to side - look beautiful and add to the fact that everything feels at once true to life but otherworldly at the same time.

The tone of the film carries on with this sense of everything being off-kilter as the film is full of misunderstandings, the banal mixed with the extraordinary and time moving at half speed. The themes of the film, as I understood them, were much more pointed , dealing with loneliness, communication and dissatisfaction with ones life.

Sufficed to say, this is downbeat film. It's about one man's struggle to connect with others in a way that is satisfying to him without ever realising that it is he, and not others, who is causing the disconnect. That's not to say it's a self-serious bore – there are genuine moments of levity and a few good laughs to be had too (mostly in response to Michael's annoyance with nearly everything and everyone he encounters).

The musical score by Carter Burwell, best known for his work with the Coen brothers, does a great job of complimenting these themes – it's melancholic but charming with some subtle surrealistic flourishes thrown in to supplement the off-kilter nature of the film. The voice acting – by the cast of three – is incredible with Thewlis nailing Michael's general upset with the world, Leigh brilliantly portraying Lisa's vulnerability and Noonan gently playing up to his signature weird-but-not-threatening persona.

There are a number of truly stand-out scenes – one of which of course being the sex scene. I won't go into detail but apparently this was the scene that took them longest to make and it's easy to see why. It's an honest, awkward, amusing and stirring scene which felt very true to life. There is also an actual dream sequence towards the end of the film which goes full-blown Kaufman, playing with the form of animation and Michael's anxieties about others which was a definite highlight.

SPOILERS

So the last scene I wanted to talk about occurs just before the very end of the film. Michael and Lisa spend the night with one another and Michael is so enamoured with Lisa that he proposes they run away together. In the cold light of the morning at the breakfast table Michael can't help but notice some of Lisa's annoying habits and her voice slowly but surely morphs into everyone else's.

For me this was the moment when the film went from good to great as it perfectly demonstrates Michael's failings - he wants to find someone different but what different means to him is someone who is good enough for him. And of course, no one is. Thus Leigh's voice-over turns into Noonan's as Michael loses interest in her and falls once more into his depression.

The great irony of Michael is that he earns a living by teaching others to treat customers as people and how to connect with them but because of his inflated sense of worth and selfish attitude this is the one thing he's unable to do in his own life.

SPOILERS END

There were, however, a few things I disliked about Anomalisa. It definitely has a slow start as the first thirty minutes of the film, as Michael makes his way to the hotel and then settles into his room, definitely felt padded. This may be because the film-makers originally envisioned the film being a 40 minute 'short' film but went to feature length after securing additional funding.

Michael was also at times difficult to swallow. I like characters that test the audience, and the film does a good job of humanising him but Michael is simply horrible. He lies to his wife and cheats on her, he dislikes his child and can barely conceal the fact and he spends his free time using his status in the customer service industry to prey on vulnerable young women.

In fact Lisa herself is a little difficult to like at times but for different reasons – her shy, delicate and self-deprecating nature was sometimes actually quite annoying to watch. My final criticism is about the very ending to the film, which I won't spoil, don't worry – and involves a doll. You'll know what I mean if you've seen the film and this element felt wholly unnecessary to me and created complications to the narrative that didn't need to exist.

Despite these issues I really enjoyed Anomalisa and look forward to seeing it again. Whilst it won't be for everyone – it's slow, sad and introspective – I think it talks about some very interesting psychological issues in a visually inventive way. I'm going to give it 8/10 and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone that has enjoyed Kaufman's previous films.

Have you seen Anomalisa and if so what did you think of it? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to subscribe for more reviews coming soon.