FilmSnobReviews

Title: Anomalisa
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman
Starring: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan
Runtime: 1 hr 30 mins

What It Is: Michael Stone (Thewlis) is a man who specializes in customer service. He is in Cincinnati for a speaking engagement. Michael is a man disenfranchised with the world. He finds himself unable to connect with people outside of small talk, and for the most part, he is completely uncomfortable with it. When he meets Lisa (Jason Leigh) he finally finds a person he connects with on a different level. Her voice, he states is just fantastic. Perhaps that is because she is the only person who doesn’t sound like Tom Noonan who voices every other character in the film.

What We Think: This is a film that like writer/director Charlie Kaufman’s others, well it just gets me. Thewlis perfectly emits sympathy for Stone even in his most unlikable. Lisa is naive to the world around her for the most part, and that too is well put together. I completely do not know how to best convey to you fine folks how amazing this film is. It’s stop-motion animation is original and refreshing looking. I think Inside Out may have met a worthy contender for the Best Animated Feature Award as well as Best Picture at the Annie Awards. There’re so many undertones to the film opened for interpretation. Take those bits and run with them in your mind.

Our Grade: A-, Man this is such a good film. I’d recommend it but I cannot in good conscience do that for everyone. Much like Kaufman’s other films, it is a difficult watch thematically and you really have to pay attention to truly appreciate it. It is currently playing in limited so when it releases wider, and if this looks like something you wanna check out do it!