Mention the art of animation, and most people will immediately conjure images of a talking mouse, a wascally wabbit or a not-so-wily coyote. They will think, in other words, of kid's stuff.
But by no means is animation exclusively the province of small fry, and Charlie Kaufman -- the Oscar-winning screenwriter and one of the most thrillingly distinct voices in Hollywood -- is setting out to prove it once and for all with his newest film, the stop-motion animated drama "Anomalisa[1]."
Animated though it may be, Kaufman's film is no fairly tale. It doesn't feature anthropomorphic animals or gleeful song-and-dance numbers. Rather, it is thoughtful, it is artful and it is haunting in its own way.
It is also -- like nearly everything the mind-bending Kaufman does, from "Being John Malkovich" to "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" to "Synecdoche, New York" -- a smartly realized and decidedly unforgettable study in the human condition. That helps make it one of the more insightful films to hit screens in the past year.
It is not, on the other hand, a film to which you'll want to bring the kiddos. That is, not unless you want to expose them to some heavy, grown-up ideas, including a memorable and moving portrait of depression and isolation, as well as one of the more graphic scenes of puppet sex you're likely to have seen this side of "Team America: World Police."
Unlike that movie, though, it's not done for laughs. In fact, although it has its share of chuckles, very little of "Anomalisa" is done for laughs.
British actor David Thewlis ("The Theory of Everything," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") stars, providing the voice of Michael Stone, a self-help author dragging himself through a drab business trip to Cincinnati. ("Try the chili![2]") While life in a non-descript hotel room is enough to arise pangs of depression in most people, it's clear that Michael's melancholia is not merely the type brought on by too many airport meals.
Rather, it is the product of something much deeper, more profound. Something is missing in his life, and it's clear he's not going to find it hiding behind a tiny bottle of vodka in the hotel minibar. That doesn't stop him from trying, though.
Then, in a chance encounter, he meets a young woman who is staying in the same hotel. Named Lisa (and voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh), she considers herself awkward and ordinary. To Michael, though, she is decidedly different.
She is, he says, an anomaly (the title of the film being a portmanteau combining that word with her name), and he isn't shy about letting her know how smitten he is.
It's a credit to both Thewlis and Leigh that they manage to capture so much raw, believable emotion in their voice performances. Yes, we're watching stop-motion puppets interact, but they consistently feel real -- at times more real than the main characters in the type of live-action films traditionally served up in Hollywood's January doldrums.
Granted, the chief metaphor at work in "Anomalisa" doesn't run very deep. As Michael shuffles about Cincinnati, going from the airport to his hotel room, everyone he encounters sounds the same. That's because all of them -- from his wife to his son to his cabbie to the hotel staff -- are voiced by the same actor, Tom Noonan. (He is every bit as good as Thewlis and Leigh, and every bit as vital to the story, in what is a largely thankless role.)
The 7 best animated films of 2015[3]
And then Michael meets Lisa, a woman with a voice all her own. The effect isn't unlike an audio version of going from black-and-white film stock to color.
As the film's central Big Idea, the single-voice conceit of all the supporting characters sometimes makes "Anomalisa" feel like thin stuff. In fact, the story surrounding it often feels padded, as if it would have been more effective if distilled down into a short film -- even a longish short -- than stretched out and watered down to become a full-length, 90-minute feature.
Thankfully, there are those engaging voice performances and the always-fascinating artistry of well-done stop-motion animation. Together, they help tow Kaufman's film through any lulls, and help elevate that central single-voice conceit beyond mere gimmick -- which it very easily could have become -- and into the realm of something downright inspired.
As a result, even with its flaws, the whole exercise makes for an affecting and effective film.
As animated movies go, "Anomalisa" -- which was nominated earlier this month for an Academy Award as best animated feature, the latest in a raft of honors for the film -- is indeed an anomaly. For anyone who enjoys thoughtful cinema, it's also a decidedly welcome one.
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ANOMALISA
4 stars, out of 5
Snapshot: A stop-motion animated film about a lonely self-help author who falls in love with a woman he meets during a hotel stay in Cincinnati.
What works: The work of the voice cast is fantastic, helping the film become a thoughtful, artful treatise on depression.
What doesn't: The film's central metaphor doesn't run very deep, and the thin plot often feels as if it would have made for a better short film than a full-length feature.
Voice cast: David Thewlis, Tom Noonan, Jennifer Jason Leigh. Directors: Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson. Rating: R, for strong sexual content, graphic nudity and language. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
Oscars 2016: Full list of nominees for 88th annual Academy Awards[4]
References
- ^ Anomalisa (www.anomalisa.com)
- ^ Try the chili! (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ The 7 best animated films of 2015 (www.nola.com)
- ^ Oscars 2016: Full list of nominees for 88th annual Academy Awards (www.nola.com)
