Anomalisa Review

I just got to see Anomalisa. I phrase it that way because it does feel a little bit like I have been given some sort of exclusive golden ticket, and not just because the film has a limited theater run at the moment - it was special.

This segment was used in episode #120 of the RubberOnion Animation Podcast (click to listen to the entire episode)

HOW IT STARTED

Anomalisa started as a live-performance "sound play"; like a radio play but on stage. The actors read their lines in real time, a foley artist created sound fx in real time, all while the musician (Carter Burwell) played in real time. It wasn't intended to be recorded or preserved film. As writer/director Charlie Kaufman put it "we performed it twice in 2005... and then it was over... I liked that it was ephemeral."

It was Dino Stamatopoulos, a friend of Kaufman's, who saw the play being performed at UCLA and asked if he could make it into a movie. You'll know Dino as the founder of Animation Studio Starburns Industries (Rick & Morty, and many more), writer (and more) on the new Netflix show W Bob & David, and he was (clearly) the character of "Starburns" on Community.

Kaufman reluctantly agreed, stipulating that Dino had to raise the money (never thinking that it would happen). Enter the Kickstarter campaign which raised $406,237 from over 5,000 backers to produce a 40 minute short. Well that success led to Starburns Industries securing more funding and turning it into a feature length film with an ultimate budget of $8mil.

STORY, and my critical dilemma

It's written by Charlie Kaufman. That, right there, should say a lot. This has been said a lot about the man over the years but it's very rare that an auteur, when referring to film, is the writer. Charlie Kaufman is an auteur. Understand that while he is billed as one of two directors, the direction as far as the visuals are concerned is Duke Johnson.

Here's the problem, I feel like too much is being given away about the plot in reviews. I'm not saying that in the modern "no spoilers" tone where you're not allowed to say anything about any movie without getting scolded. What I'm saying is that the film itself is a very subtle exploration of a mundane rut in someone's life so it doesn't naturally lend itself to many significant reveals. The few plot turns which are there... are significant.

I really feel like this movie is best enjoyed if you know absolutely nothing and let the filmmakers take you through it all... so if you trust me that much, just go watch it!

But if you want to know a little more, there are a few things I want to bring up.

The main character, Michael Stone (voiced by David Thewlis, who also played Remus Lupin from the Harry Potter series) stays in a hotel called "The Fregoli." Even the sound play was written under the pseudonym Francis Fregoli which references the Fregoli delusion which is "a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that different people are in fact a single person who changes appearance." Michael is a customer service guru who wrote a book and gives talks at conferences. Everyone except for Michael and a woman he meets at the conference, Lisa (voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh), are voiced by the same actor: Tom Noonan (who fans of Last Action Hero might remember as the film villain, Ripper) The film is set in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2005.

There's a reason I picked these four to pick out and tell you: they directly relate to the animation. To be more precise, they perfectly encapsulate why I think this film with its generic, work-a-day setting should be a hyper realistic animated stop-mo film.

ANIMATION, or did this really need to be animated?

Yes. Here's why:

Ok first up, the fact that the main character sees everyone as the same person and is also customer service guru is a great touch. But more important is the ability to marry the visuals of 3D printed stop-mo puppets and their interchangeable features to the world that this man is living in.

Everything supports the mundane. No offence to my Cincinnati fans out there... I dig your chili (and the fact that it and the zoo are constantly being brought up as 'things to do' while he's visiting is a fun running gag), but Ohio is kind of the perfect place to set a movie like this. The every-state, state.

Just as every character but the two mains is played by the same actor (Tom Noonan), all their character designs are made of the same puppet parts... like a high-end Mr. Potato Heads.

There are couple excellent moments for animation fans in the film. I don't want to ruin it other than to say that the design choice isn't just aesthetic, but in true Kaufman fashion there is some 4th wall busting moments with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AILnP1Y-0o

The acting is very subtle. Aside from The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (though maybe more so) this has probably the most subtle acting performances I've seen in an animated feature. I would be fascinated to find out what challenges that presented to the animators because the motions are deliberate while still seemingly spontaneous. There's a particular sequence I noted where Lisa falls down in the hallway and Michael runs up to her as maybe the most true-to-life stop-mo run I've ever seen.

The lighting is especially fantastic in the "date" scenes with Michael and Lisa. And sidenote: yes Anomalisa has something to do with her name, and no I'm not telling you what it is. If you haven't figured it out on your own it's better that the film tells you.

THE SEX SCENE, or "yes, that one"

Yes there is a sex scene. Yes there is nudity. Yes there are explicit acts performed.

But I've read in other reviews words like "filthy" and "raunchy" and it is definitely neither of those. It plays very real, and by real I don't mean just the physical act. I mean that the moment is full of interplay which reinforces the characters and their dynamic in real-time. There's communication, mood breaks, awkward advances and retreats, and all these other intricacies that aren't in other scenes like this.

I know that not everyone checks their watch to note the pacing of a film, but if you want to know perfect editing... note what happens at exactly the 60 minute mark of the film. Not so incidentally, Garret Elkins is nominated for Best Editing at the Annies this year.

SO WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?

I know, this sounds a little heady and boring and you're right. The fact is, it's very hard to communicate this film without discussing it line-by-line which I refuse to do. Just understand that this is the first R-rated animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for BEST ANIMATED FEATURE. That should speak volumes right there.

The fact of the matter is that we don't get films like this very often but I'm seeing it more and more these days in the animated medium, whether it be stop-mo, computer-modeled, or hand-drawn.

TL;DR This is an R-rated, introspective, critically-praised, independent animated feature film which started its funding with a successful online crowdfunding campaign and ended up getting nominated for Best Animated Feature Oscar... that is special.

Go watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQkHA3fHk_0