Anomalisa (2016)

Anomalisa (2016)

A chilling adult animated film that fully immerses you into mid-life depression and mental illness

The Very Best

8.3

Movie

UK, United Kingdom
English
Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
2015
CHARLIE KAUFMAN, DUKE JOHNSON
David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan
90 min

What it's about

An inspirational speaker becomes reinvigorated after meeting a lively woman who shakes up his mundane existence.

The take

Putting the inherent eeriness of stop motion animation to perfect use, Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson's Anomalisa create a legitimately disturbing experience of a man's paranoid delusions, as he tries desperately to make a real human connection while perceiving everyone around him as the same person. It's that (unfortunately) rare animated film that understands that this medium can tell complex, even terrifying, stories for grown-ups while respecting their intelligence. And it's still gorgeously put together, with seamless movements from the character puppets and evocative lighting and cinematography that puts the film firmly in the uncanny valley. It's a tougher watch than it looks, but the depth of feeling it captures is nothing short of totally human.

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