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For some reason, animation has become an art form that’s reserved almost entirely for kids—with only the occasional gutsy filmmaker taking a step into more grown-up territory. But with Anomalisa, directors Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson use stop-motion animation to create a film that’s smart and thoughtful and definitely not for young viewers.
Anomalisa tells the story of Michael Stone (voiced by David Thewlis), a customer service specialist who’s staying in Cincinnati’s Fregoli Hotel while he’s in town to speak at a conference. Distant and detached from the world around him, Michael never connects with other people—because, to him, they all look and sound the same. But then he meets Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who looks and sounds unlike anyone else—and he begins to hope that she’ll be able to change his dull, meaningless life.
Anomalisa is definitely a different kind of animated film. It isn’t flashy and colorful, with a cast of silly talking animals. Instead, it’s a grown-up story, with grown-up characters in some very grown-up situations. In fact, it sometimes seems that the film tries to be extra grown-up, just to push the animation boundaries.
This is one movie, however, that requires a little bit of homework. If you go into the film without knowing anything about it, you’ll most likely be confused and perplexed—and you’ll probably miss the point. So it’s good to know that the hotel where the film takes place gets its name from a disorder that loosely connects to the main character (in which a person believes that various people are the same person in different disguises). Also, there are just three voice actors in the film: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tom Noonan, who voices everyone else.
The animation style may take some getting used to, but that’s also what makes the film irresistibly eccentric. It’s quirky and clever, and it makes some amusing observations about everyday life. But it’s also surprisingly profound, offering some fascinating commentary on relationships, love, and the way in which we see ourselves and other people. Though it may seem strange and gimmicky and maybe even a little self-important, there comes a moment when it all makes sense—when the message comes through loud and clear. And even if you don’t really appreciate the film’s various oddities, that moment of realization makes it all worthwhile.
Anomalisa is about as far from a mainstream, family-friendly animated movie as you can get—and, of course, that’s part of the film’s appeal. It’s definitely a strange film, but it’s also sharp and perceptive and challenging.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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