Anomalisa - directed by Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman
Starring: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rated: TBC - Some graphic puppet nudity and profanity
Charlie Kaufman is probably either a name you know very well or not at all.
He is most well known for his screenplays for "Being John Malkovich", "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Adaptation" and "Synecdoche, New York".
They tend to win awards and huge critical respect but they're not exactly mainstream box office gold.
Kaufman's characters tend to be beset with sadness, neuroses and a quirkiness that means they're not for everyone.
I like them quite a lot as a rule - specially "Adaptation" and "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
I find that both are entertaining on at least two levels.
They are fun and funny with interesting characters and plots but it is later when you start to reconsider some of the ideas presented that the best part of Kaufman's work is revealed.
They tend to stay with me - often because I am still trying to make sense of them... in a good way.
There is always a host of genuinely meaty stuff to wrap your head around.
With "Anomalisa" (the title is explained during the movie) Kaufman also serves as co-director which means that this is very much the proverbial Kaufman piece of work.
And I am certainly still mulling it over in my head.... a lot.
The first thing that strikes about "Anomalisa" is the visual style.
The film uses puppets and stop motion and whilst there are no strings visible a-la "Thunderbirds" or "Team America: World Police" there is no attempt to hide the seams in the faces.
There are thick grooves visible all around the edge of the faces.
Movement is beautifully realised with an uncannily natural movement applied to all characters.
I say all because ultimately there aren't more than half a dozen that really matter and in fact most of the time there are only two.
The credits show only three actors - David Thewlis as Michael, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lisa and Tom Noonan as everyone else!
This is a very intimate movie - in more ways than one.
More than the fact that it focuses on so few characters but in the way that it presents the main character.
Arriving in Cincinnati to do a speech, self help author Michael Stone is distant and removed from those around him.
The taxi driver proudly boasts of all the places and things he should try while in town but Michael isn't interested in the city or in small talk.
The same applies with the hotel clerk who speaks with the same voice as the cabbie and with his wife and son who he phones from his room.
And they are all voiced by Tom Noonan in the same voice.
It is disconcerting to begin with specially when women are talking but it soon becomes apparent what is happening when Michael meets seminar attendant and nearby hotel room guest Lisa.
He hears her voice - this time a real female voice courtesy of the great Jennifer Jason Leigh- and is immediately intrigued and smitten with her.
She and her roommate are fans of Michael's books and agree to have a drink with him
This leads to the pivotal scene in the movie in which Michael and Lisa get to know each other.
At this stage the movie has not been rated locally but it will no doubt earn a restricted rating of some sort which is perhaps a shame.
Yes- there is nudity and sex and profanity but it isn't used cheaply or for effect.
It is entirely in the service of the characters and the ideas at the heart of this movie.
It has Kaufman stamped all over it and in the same way that a Wes Anderson movie is clearly his work so too is "Anomalisa" Kaufman's.
Anyone doubting the merit in voice acting needs to see this film.
The work of Thewlis and Jason Leigh is utterly brilliant.
Just as much as the incredible animation their voices bring the crafted slabs of rubber to life to the degree that they cease to be puppets after a while.
(They were actually created using 3D printers)
The emotion that is generated is genuinely surprising.
The directors used Kickstarter to raise a lot of the funds required to make the film to ensure that the vision that they had would make it to the screen.
They were smart to do this.
There is little doubt that some of the dialogue and many of the scenes would not have made it to the screen with Studio cash behind the project.
What we do have is some very frank sexual content including a pretty graphic sex scene and a decent amount of profanity.
The sex scenes drew some titters from the audience I was in but it sounded more like nervous laughter rather than humorous.
There is much that is supposed to be laughed at here and when the movie is funny it is very funny indeed but the intimate scenes exist for totally different reasons.
The connection between Michael and Lisa feels real and much credit has to go to Thewlis and Jason Leigh for how completely they commit to their characters and to the material.
I don't want to give too much away because this film like Denis Villenueve's brilliant "Enemy" doesn't provide all of the answers, instead trusting the viewer to bring their own thoughts along in order to do so.
This film is best discovered fresh with no spoilers.
There is a lot that will delight and enthral those that like something different and smart.
Yes, it is an odd movie but then it is Charlie Kaufman- it goes with the territory.
It's ironic that a 90 minute (with credits) movie funded by crowd sourcing and created with three actors and a bunch of puppets can says so much about human emotion and frailty where movies that cost ten times as much often can't come close.
I was glued to the screen for the entire length of this film.
Partly out of awe at the skill in the presentation and animation, partly due to the supremely great voice acting, partly because I couldn't wait to see what happened next but mostly because the entire thing is utterly hypnotic.
"Anomalisa" is haunting, touching, funny, sad and very, very well written.
It's like nothing you've seen before - see it.
RATING: 80/ 100
CONCLUSION: A unique, brave movie that has more to say about human relationships than a dozen rom-coms. Exceptionally well made this one will have you pondering it for hours (and I suspects weeks) after it ends.
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rated: TBC - Some graphic puppet nudity and profanity
Charlie Kaufman is probably either a name you know very well or not at all.
He is most well known for his screenplays for "Being John Malkovich", "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Adaptation" and "Synecdoche, New York".
They tend to win awards and huge critical respect but they're not exactly mainstream box office gold.
Kaufman's characters tend to be beset with sadness, neuroses and a quirkiness that means they're not for everyone.
I like them quite a lot as a rule - specially "Adaptation" and "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
I find that both are entertaining on at least two levels.
They are fun and funny with interesting characters and plots but it is later when you start to reconsider some of the ideas presented that the best part of Kaufman's work is revealed.
They tend to stay with me - often because I am still trying to make sense of them... in a good way.
There is always a host of genuinely meaty stuff to wrap your head around.
With "Anomalisa" (the title is explained during the movie) Kaufman also serves as co-director which means that this is very much the proverbial Kaufman piece of work.
And I am certainly still mulling it over in my head.... a lot.
 |
| Michael meets old flame Bella |
The film uses puppets and stop motion and whilst there are no strings visible a-la "Thunderbirds" or "Team America: World Police" there is no attempt to hide the seams in the faces.
There are thick grooves visible all around the edge of the faces.
Movement is beautifully realised with an uncannily natural movement applied to all characters.
I say all because ultimately there aren't more than half a dozen that really matter and in fact most of the time there are only two.
The credits show only three actors - David Thewlis as Michael, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lisa and Tom Noonan as everyone else!
 |
| Michael with Lisa |
More than the fact that it focuses on so few characters but in the way that it presents the main character.
Arriving in Cincinnati to do a speech, self help author Michael Stone is distant and removed from those around him.
The taxi driver proudly boasts of all the places and things he should try while in town but Michael isn't interested in the city or in small talk.
The same applies with the hotel clerk who speaks with the same voice as the cabbie and with his wife and son who he phones from his room.
And they are all voiced by Tom Noonan in the same voice.
It is disconcerting to begin with specially when women are talking but it soon becomes apparent what is happening when Michael meets seminar attendant and nearby hotel room guest Lisa.
He hears her voice - this time a real female voice courtesy of the great Jennifer Jason Leigh- and is immediately intrigued and smitten with her.
She and her roommate are fans of Michael's books and agree to have a drink with him
This leads to the pivotal scene in the movie in which Michael and Lisa get to know each other.
At this stage the movie has not been rated locally but it will no doubt earn a restricted rating of some sort which is perhaps a shame.
Yes- there is nudity and sex and profanity but it isn't used cheaply or for effect.
It is entirely in the service of the characters and the ideas at the heart of this movie.
It has Kaufman stamped all over it and in the same way that a Wes Anderson movie is clearly his work so too is "Anomalisa" Kaufman's.
 |
| There are few locations but the detail in each is extraordinary |
The work of Thewlis and Jason Leigh is utterly brilliant.
Just as much as the incredible animation their voices bring the crafted slabs of rubber to life to the degree that they cease to be puppets after a while.
(They were actually created using 3D printers)
The emotion that is generated is genuinely surprising.
The directors used Kickstarter to raise a lot of the funds required to make the film to ensure that the vision that they had would make it to the screen.
They were smart to do this.
There is little doubt that some of the dialogue and many of the scenes would not have made it to the screen with Studio cash behind the project.
What we do have is some very frank sexual content including a pretty graphic sex scene and a decent amount of profanity.
The sex scenes drew some titters from the audience I was in but it sounded more like nervous laughter rather than humorous.
There is much that is supposed to be laughed at here and when the movie is funny it is very funny indeed but the intimate scenes exist for totally different reasons.
The connection between Michael and Lisa feels real and much credit has to go to Thewlis and Jason Leigh for how completely they commit to their characters and to the material.
 |
| Stop motion was used to animate the puppets |
This film is best discovered fresh with no spoilers.
There is a lot that will delight and enthral those that like something different and smart.
Yes, it is an odd movie but then it is Charlie Kaufman- it goes with the territory.
It's ironic that a 90 minute (with credits) movie funded by crowd sourcing and created with three actors and a bunch of puppets can says so much about human emotion and frailty where movies that cost ten times as much often can't come close.
I was glued to the screen for the entire length of this film.
Partly out of awe at the skill in the presentation and animation, partly due to the supremely great voice acting, partly because I couldn't wait to see what happened next but mostly because the entire thing is utterly hypnotic.
"Anomalisa" is haunting, touching, funny, sad and very, very well written.
It's like nothing you've seen before - see it.
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