Every once in a while, children’s animated films come out in the market; even more rarely, an animated film is directed at both children and adults equally; and there are those few gems which are only meant for adults. The last category is inhabited by the mesmerizing stop motion film Anomalisa.
Anomalisa is a stop motion film co-directed by Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman. They work mostly with Kaufman’s original screenplays. ‘Anomalisa’ follows Michael Stone, an author of motivational books about customer service, on the trip to Cincinnati. Michael, voiced by David Thewlis, is in the city for only one night, in anticipation of a speech he is booked to deliver the following day at a conference related to customer service. On the flip side, Michael has a peculiar problem – every one of them appears and sounds like everyone else.
That is a jest for the audience, which begs of obvious humor in the movie, but neither the empathy with, or the fear of, Michael is absent. The Semos are aware that the cause behind the identical appearance and voice of the people is because it is produced by Tom Noonan, and people look the same because that is how the filmmakers have designed them to look. Michael,nobody knows, has no idea about what is going on. It really appears that this is a viewpoint that he has held on for quite a long time now, but which he does not comprehend.
This is just the first of so many fascinating questions Anomalisa places before the viewers many of these in the initial moments of the film and then goes on to tackle. In fact, almost all of the big questions one would have concerning the film in relation s to the near similar voices as well as the reason as to why everybody’s face inclusive of Michael’s face has a line drawn from ear to ear are rapidly raised then later on gradually addressed and systematically resolved. Of course, ‘resolved’ does not always mean the problem is totally resolved, if it does in such a film as this one directed by Charlie Kaufman, it will resolve only some of them but after the film is over including several things that come up for the audience to think on their own, some questions shall remain unanswered.
The fact that these are the questions that audience members do consider even after they are out of the theater is part of the power of the work Anomalisa. This is a film that while being viewed one applauds immediately, but which however is not finished with after exiting the theater, it’s a film that is churned in the head for quite some time after. There is a delicacy and meticulousness to the animation to each and every even the minutiae of frames. And with the help of Anomalisa, I witnessed what I would best describe as a fragile talent being animated and being aware that a single mistreat might spell the end of the performance before its destined climax.
Just as the animation makes the film delicate, so the story also does. In a hotel in Cincinnati, Michael is in his room when he hears a woman’s voice in the hallway, a voice that sounds unique compared especially to others. Instantly captivated, he starts banging on doors in a frantic search for her. Who is Lisa (voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh) and what makes her so different? Why was it that, only by hearing her voice, he could tell she was not just another woman?
To the audience, this is both a wonderful and terrifying moment at the same time. This new voice, in the otherwise perfect world of Anomalisa, which has not been tainted by any new voices so far, will it ruin the perfect feeling of the motion picture as it marches forward? If Anomalisa is to pose one of its big questions and one of its characters is Lisa’s introduction what of that question will this character answer.
The audience again winds up feeling just as excited and scared as Michael. We know Michael is not done seeking this “different voice”, but will Michael’s journey to search for this voice lead to nobody getting what they have been searching for? Michael’s explanation seeking mission with Lisa is accomplished just like everything else in Anomalisa, with satisfaction and elegance.
Please note that the description above about the story concerns the main events in the film. Prof, How’s a person supposed to know these things? This is normal.
It’s equally hilarious, remarkable and deep as any other laughter had in the movie. Right from the beginning to end, it is a heart-wrenching movie.
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