{"id":3739,"date":"2016-08-27T18:37:09","date_gmt":"2016-08-27T22:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=3739"},"modified":"2024-08-03T17:46:15","modified_gmt":"2024-08-03T21:46:15","slug":"anomalisa-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=3739","title":{"rendered":"Anomalisa-2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anomalisa-2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Tom Noonan, Jennifer Jason Leigh<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #469<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"80080269\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed August 27, 2016<\/p>\n

Grade: A-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anomalisa (2015) is one of the most creative offerings I have seen recently.<\/p>\n

Animation is not my forte- typically I find them much too nice, and the old “family-friendly” tags make me cringe, Anomalisa has received heaps of buzz so I decided to check it out.<\/p>\n

I am glad I did.<\/p>\n

The stop-motion film is quite adult-themed, though not the slightest bit raunchy. Rather it is an intelligent tale about loneliness and human beings connecting through this loneliness.<\/p>\n

It is a bit of a melancholy film too, based on a 2005 play.<\/p>\n

The central character is Michael Stone, a depressed customer service expert, who travels to Cincinnati to deliver a seminar on his expertise. Michael is riddled with anxiety and his life is rather mundane though he checks into a stylish hotel that is presumably hosting his convention.<\/p>\n

He is a bit of a big name within his industry. Oddly, every person he encounters looks and sounds the same- that of a white man- even his wife and son. He is haunted by the memory of an old flame, Bella, who it is revealed he jilted years ago and now lives in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n

The story gets interesting when Michael hears a woman’s voice singing, up until now all voices are male, remember, and he is desperate to find the voice.<\/p>\n

He meets Lisa (voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh), an insecure, rather dowdy woman, with whom he becomes infatuated. A customer service representative at the hotel to witness Michael’s seminar, Lisa is instantly smitten, though wary of Michael’s intentions.<\/p>\n

They bond and the film tells of their romance and insecurities.<\/p>\n

The film is highly creative and unique. It is also mysterious. My first wonder was to figure out why all the characters, regardless of gender, share the same voice.<\/p>\n

Michael is lonely and sees everyone else as monotonous or meaningless until he meets Lisa. The film is not clear what Michael sees in Lisa- perhaps her realness in a world of phoniness. She is an ordinary girl, but what is the point? I am still not sure of this.<\/p>\n

I did not find the character Michael likable and not one to root for. He is dismissive of some characters and a bit condescending, but despite this, not a hated character either. He and Lisa as a duo are to root for.<\/p>\n

Anomalisa has some humor too, albeit dark humor. When Michael mistakes an adult toy store for a traditional toy store and purchases a Japanese sex doll for his son, Michael’s wife hilariously wonders about some foreign substance around the doll’s mouth.<\/p>\n

A nervous male passenger on Michael’s flight clutches Michael’s hand, even after landing safely.<\/p>\n

The explicit sex scene between Michael and Lisa is as shocking as it is tender. I think showing this graphic edge in animation threw me for a loop since this rarely happens in animated films- perhaps incorrectly- assuming that they are for children only with their parents to endure.<\/p>\n

Anomalisa is not true animation- felt puppets are used, giving a great, human-looking feel and making the characters more life-like.<\/p>\n

Anomalisa (2015) is not a perfect ten but damn close for its left-of-center approach alone. A journey into the art of creativity and thought. A bit far out there for most, and perhaps the sarcasm may be lost on some, but a unique experience, nonetheless.<\/p>\n

Oscar Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>Best Animated Feature Film<\/p>\n

Independent Spirit Award Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>Best Feature, Best Director-Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, Best Supporting Female-Jennifer Jason Leigh, Best Screenplay<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anomalisa-2015 Director Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson Starring Tom Noonan, Jennifer Jason Leigh Scott’s Review #469 Reviewed August 27, 2016 Grade: A- Anomalisa (2015) is one of the most creative offerings I have seen recently. Animation is not my forte- typically I find them much too nice, and the old “family-friendly” tags make me cringe, Anomalisa … Continue reading Anomalisa-2015<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[240,37,5177,49,179,5179,192,5178,1030,5180],"tags":[241,54,5181,252,180,5183,193,5182,1040,5184],"class_list":["post-3739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2015-movie-reviews","category-animatedfilms","category-charlie-kaufman","category-comedies","category-darkcomedies","category-david-thewlis","category-dramas","category-duke-johnson","category-jennifer-jason-leigh","category-tom-noonan","tag-2015-movie-reviews","tag-animated-films","tag-charlie-kaufman","tag-comedies","tag-dark-comedies","tag-david-thewlis","tag-dramas-2","tag-duke-johnson","tag-jennifer-jason-leigh","tag-tom-noonan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3739"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20439,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3739\/revisions\/20439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}