| My rating | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critics | Audience | Critics | Audience | |
| 8/10 | 88/100 | 7.6/10 | 82% | 77% |
Usually, when we think of an animated movie, a children’s theme usually comes to mind. That’s not what happens in Anomalisa, though. It’s a stop motion animation rated R (language and nudity) and written by Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).
In Anomalisa we meet Michael Stone (David Thewlis), a customer service’s specialist who is traveling from L.A. to Cincinnati to give one of his famous motivational speeches. As he interacts with other people, we slowly realize that everyone has the same voice, regardless of their gender. So the taxi driver, his wife on the phone, the receptionist at the hotel, etc., are all voiced by Tom Noonan. It’s clear from the beginning that he is depressed and unsatisfied with his life, but we don’t know why. Suddenly, however, he overhears a woman’s voice (Jennifer Jason Leigh) on the corridor of the hotel and decides to meet her.
The movie is 90 minutes long, but sometimes I felt like it could be shorter. Maybe the lack of soundtrack makes it feels longer. Or maybe that was the intention all along, so we could see how his day really is. As I mentioned, the causes of his disorder are not clear, but the name of the hotel where he stays may be a clue (Fregoli).
Nominated for the Academy Awards in the Best Animated Feature category, Anomalisa was an interesting surprise, since it is one of the deepest movies of the year and I really wasn’t expecting that. Is it better than Inside Out? Not in my opinion… But it is good to see that animation is being used more and more to attract adults as well.
