Anomalisa (2015)

Genre

Animation | Comedy | Drama

Directors

Charlie Kaufman | Duke Johnson

Country

USA

Voice Cast

David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan

Storyline

Crippled by the mundanity of his life, self-help author Michael Stone (David Thewlis) experiences something out of the ordinary.

Opinion

After the unfortunate distribution of "Synecdoche, New York", Charlie Kaufman and his unconventional works have found nothing but closed doors. That's why he, and his team, decided to raised the film's budget on Kickstarter so as to "produce this unique and beautiful film outside of the typical Hollywood studio system where we believe that you, the audience, would never be allowed to enjoy this brilliant work the way it was originally conceived". The goal was to make something pure, something beautiful, and that's' exactly what they did.

"Anomalisa" is a brilliant, very original, intriguing and thought-provoking dramedy on depression and loneliness that could have originated from the mind of Charlie Kaufman only.

The film is extremely simple, yet extremely complex and, in a short amount of time - 90 minutes only - it manages to provoke a thought about the dilemmas brought by midlife crisis in a society where individuality is completely nullified.

From the very first minutes the viewer begins to wonder why all the characters except the protagonist have the same voice and the same inflection, whether men, women or children. The story gives us the answer, as we face the story of a man in existential crisis that feels surrounded by a world made up of identical people. 

The name of the hotel at which Michael Stone is staying - Fregoli Hotel - is not random at all. In fact, the Fregoli delusion is a disorder in which a person has a delusional belief that different people are actually a single individual who changes appearance to persecute him. And that's the exact portrayal of the protagonist.

But then there's Lisa, the anomaly. She is something new, something different, something extraordinary, and her voice, so sweet and cuddly, represents a change in Michael's life, finally opening his eyes.

Technically speaking, Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson directed a sad story with a lot of sensitivity. The stop-motion animation is brilliantly done and deserves to be praised because obviously a lot of work and effort was put into it.

And lastly, all the characters are brought to life by excellent voice work from David Thewlis (Michael Stone), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Lisa) and Tom Noonan (everybody else).

Definitely a must-see for the Kaufman lovers. And don't let you trick by the animation, this is not a film for kids.

Our time is limited, we forget that. - Michael Stone