Anomalisa

This is a small film – by which I mean it's not a great one. This is, of course, in contrast to all the critical praise which has been heaped on it. The word "masterpiece" has featured in many reviews, but I can't agree. I'd stress that I'm a huge Charlie Kaufman fan and my anticipation on going to see the film was equally as big as my disappointment after I'd done so. So what's the problem? I think it's the smallness of the story;yes it's about alienation,yes it's clever, yes the sex scene is achingly real and uncomfortable, but this movie has only a few points to make – mostly about alienation and the "otherness" of people – and while it makes them well, they don't amount to a decent movie. Thinking about it afterwards – and puzzled by the praise it has received and disconcerted by my own disappointment – I realised that if this movie has been made with human actors it simply wouldn't get the same sort of critical acclaim, in fact, it would be deemed dull, dull, dull. The thing which lifts it out of the ordinary – but not into the extraordinary – is the fact that it's told via animation. I urge anyone who loves the movie to try and imagine sitting through the same script acted by real people – it would be achingly boring.

I am a huge Charlie Kaufman fan, and was very excited to get the chance to see this film at the Denver Film Festival this week. However, this film was extremely disappointing. The plot was quite boring and the film really just seemed to be a character study of loneliness and mental health deterioration. It would have made a great short film, but it was entirely too long for such a low-quality plot. The ending left me extremely unsatisfied.

However, I did enjoy the animation, sound, and other technical aspects of the film. But I'd have to rate this 5 stars and place it next to down there next to Schenectady, New York as one of my least favorite Charlie Kaufman films. Apparently I prefer films he writes but does not direct. I'm ready for another Spike Jonze collaboration!

Charlie Kaufman has always put together fantastic and thought-provoking movies so I naturally get excited before I'm about to watch one. Anomalisa is another fantastic addition to his body of work.

Anomalisa follows Michael, who is tired of the mundanity in his life but soon experiences something special after meeting a woman named Lisa.

Apart from Human Nature and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, I have seen every Kaufman film and loved every single one of them. Anomalisa is yet another film where Kaufman studies the human psyche and it's one of the best looking animated films I've seen. Since Kaufman doesn't have experience with stop motion, Duke Johnson came to help and the stop motion animation is visually striking. Despite being small in scale, the world of Anomalisa feels incredibly real. There are some impressive long takes where we follow characters into different rooms. Considering the challenges of stop motion, doing a long take is incredibly difficult so I have to praise the hard work put in by the animators because on a technical level this film is phenomenal.

This film isn't just style over substance because Charlie Kaufman adds so much depth and purpose to the characters and scenarios. This is a film that is sure to resonate with a lot of people. As of right now, I cannot relate to it as much but a few years down the line I may really connect with its themes. I love how interpretive Anomalisa is. It's not just a film you forget after finishing it. I still find myself thinking about the ending and other details. The voice acting is really good. David Thewlis does a terrific job as Michael and Jennifer Jason Leigh is absolutely fantastic as Lisa.

Anomalisa is another fantastic Kaufman film that's not only technically impressive but also humane and relatable. It's sad to see a talented writer like him struggle to fund his movies. I really hope he continues to write and direct more films as there is no writer like Charlie Kaufman.

Every time I see a Charlie Kaufman film I'm reminded how fearless he is at examining the human condition and why I need to put a lot of time in between watching his movies.

In "Anomalisa," his Academy-Award nominated animated film, David Thewlis and especially Jennifer Jason Leigh do tremendous voice work as an emotionally ill minor celebrity and the shy, awkward woman with whom he enjoys a one-night stand while at a conference at which he is the speaker. The film is an examination of middle-aged male discontent and loneliness, a subject a younger version of me was always impatient with and which the 41-year-old version of me now finds hits uncomfortably close to home. Kaufman creates a sad character who has many unpleasant tendencies but isn't necessarily a completely unpleasant man, and allows us to see how this one night in the man's life and his approach to human relationships is a stand-in for his entire adult life and the driving force behind his depression.

As in his masterpiece, "Synecdoche, New York," Kaufman refuses to give in to the convention of happy, or at least hopeful, endings, and suggests that it is possible to live an entire life being utterly miserable if you don't possess the resources to do otherwise, a terrifying idea to anyone who has struggled with depression, anxiety, or even just prolonged bouts of general malaise. In so many Hollywood movies about unhappy people, the unhappy people just need the emotional connection to that one special person that shakes them out of their funk and changes everything around for them. One of the things I liked best about "Anomalisa" is its suggestion that, while those special people really do exist, happiness in any one person is something that has to come from inside and isn't going to be imposed on one by another. It isn't comfortable to think about the possibility of life being a long series of missed opportunities, but it feels honest.

Grade: A-

There's no other to say it: 'Anomalisa' is beyond the ordinary, its something like you've never seen before (well, almost). Oscar-Winner Charlie Kaufman Writes & Directs this unusual story, with sensitivity, although the final-act turns up bland. More on that later...

'Anomalisa' Synopis: A man crippled by the Mundanity of his life experiences something out of the ordinary.

'Anomalisa' is a story about a man stuck in monotony & depression. Kaufman along-with Co-Director Duke Johnson, delivers a sad story about facing repetition in life. And they begin the story beautifully & it remains great even after its protagonist forms a relationship with a "different soul". BUT, the final-act is a downer. The narrative falls apart & even though Kaufman's message comes across, it doesn't leave an impact. The open-ending also doesn't work. In short, 'Anomalisa' works wonders, until it falls apart in its penultimate moments.

Kaufman's Writing is truly terrific in the first-hour, but as mentioned prominently before, this story deserved a better end! Kaufman & Duke Johnson's Direction is skilled, as the stop-motion adult animation, is brilliantly done.

David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh & Tom Noonan deliver mesmerizing vocal performances. Leigh, especially, is magnificent. After 'The Hateful Eight', Leigh triumphs once again with a super act in 'Anomalisa'.

On the whole, Despite some faults, 'Anomalisa' deserves a watch for its brave approach & its perfectly done depressing setting.