The Bigger Picture

"The Bigger Picture" is a very depressing short from Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees . However, it's not depressing just for the sake of depression but has something to say about life, death and responsibilities towards elderly parents. In particular, one son is seen as successful though he seems to pay his dying mother much attention. The under-employed brother is seen as a bit of a failure, though he selflessly cares for her for many years. Interestingly, the animation is done with paint--a very labor-intensive process. It's good, though this sort of work doesn't come close to the greatest of the animators using paint, Aleksandr Petrov. Sadly, since Petrov's last nominated film, My Love, he's been unable to secure funding for more work. Had you not known of Petrov's work, "The Bigger Picture" would seem better. I did appreciate the film--especially the story.

I just went to the 2nd bill of 2014's McLaren award and saw this. I voted it No.1, having been largely unimpressed by the attempts at narratives given by most of the other films. This film is about the relationships between two middle-aged brethren and their old mother. The main character is called Richard and is quite a predictable hard done-by tragic hero. His brother Nick is the real goldmine: he gets all the best lines. He's the shallow show-off who always appears to have better luck and is a smoother guy than his brother Richard. The story is this corny thing about the two men caring for their dying mother. The paintings on the walls that come out with papier mache limbs onto a 3D set are a joy to watch. I'll be honest and say that the idea is by no means original, but it's a challenging thing to pull off and the filmmakers should be commended for it.

'THE BIGGER PICTURE': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

An 8 minute British animated short; which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film (at the upcoming 87th Academy Awards). It was directed by Daisy Jacobs and written by Jacobs and Jennifer Majka. The film also features the voice talents of Anne Cunningham, Christopher Nightingale and Alisdair Simpson. It tells the story of two brothers (Simpson and Nightingale) who desperately want to put their elderly mother (Cunningham) in a nursing home; but she refuses to go. It's darkly comedic and the imagery is a little haunting. The film also deals with the powerful emotions, and pain, of taking care of an elderly relative; but some of it is lost in translation. It's definitely a little too dark and somewhat frightening for small children. I didn't really care for the bizarre animation style either, but it was actually done life size (I learned later); that's pretty cool. Still it's one of the weaker 2015 Oscar nominated animated shorts (in my opinion).

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Two sons and an aging mother. One son is essentially her full-time carer, the other does little but is more successful in his life and career. This short film looks into these lives, which are created in a mix of paint on walls, and real objects, delivered in stop motion.

The most immediately impressive thing about his film is the craft of course. It is loaded with awards and praise, and many have said it already, but the stop-motion approach is really impressive as it uses full-sized characters painted onto walls, has real objects, and lots of creativity in the delivery. Simple touches are great, but of course the more complex movements are most impressive (for example, where depth and perspective exist on the flat surface). If this was the only craft involved then it would still be worth a look, but it is not – and the characters are just as well painted in who they are as in terms of their creation. The dynamic between the brothers, as well as individual feeling and action are all convincing created and delivered. Technically the animation allows these small touches to expressions, but the writing and voice work is what helps it most. I was caught off guard by the degree of honesty and realism in the characters and the narrative.

These qualities combined tell you why the film has been so successful, and certainly it is a memorable watch with a lot of crafting in all the places where it matters.

The Bigger Picture concerns a pair of forty-year-old men, who are coming to terms with their mother's illness, as she's about to be committed to a nursing home. The one brother struggles to care for his mother with little to no help from his other sibling, which leads to an expected discrepancy. Having just see this kind of siblings discrepancy play out amongst my family with the death of my grandmother in December, this short immediately hits close to home territory, and the fact it uses animation that looks as if it's pulled from those gigantic, decorative paintings that hang on the walls of homes in libraries and the homes of senior citizens' for added decor is wonderful and truly unique. The subversive animation style is unlike anything I've seen before, and the way that directors Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees find ways to manipulate their own style, one way specifically using live-action water during shower sequences, make for a short film that takes its eight minutes and wises utilizes every last bit. The fact that the short concerns the inevitable idea of watching your parents age is only all the more soul-crushing put to such unique and often grim animation.

Directed by: Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees.