Oscars 2016- Anomalisa

The last of my Oscar reviews, I plucked for my second most anticipated film of the year, Anomalisa. Sure, it's not out yet but I need to compare Inside Out to something and I know I'll support this film by buying it on blu-ray, especially considering how much I enjoyed the film. Piracy is bad kids, but sometimes necessary. Just make sure you support the industry.

You probably haven't heard of it, so I'll give you the plot for Anomalisa. It's the story of Michael Stone, an author who's disillusioned with life. He visits Cincinati to prepare for a conference and while staying at his hotel, The Fregoli, he meets and becomes enchanted by a woman called Lisa. I don't want this to become a cop-out but I feel like saying anymore will ruin the story. It's a simple story and what I've told you is really as much as I can say. Just know that this being a Kaufman film, it explores simple emotions in complex and weird ways.

I should probably mention here that this film is actually an animated film and it therefore doesn't have that many performances but those it has are great. Jennifer Jason Leigh voices Lisa and is delightful. It's a role that could be done by many but Leigh does a really good job of it and truth be told, I can't imagine any other voice in that role. David Thewlis is absolutely wonderful throughout as Michael, a man who is conflicted emotionally in so many ways. His performance is heartbreaking and insightful and he really delivers on his monologues, every time. For me though, the most interesting performance is Tom Noonan who is literally credited as playing "Everyone Else" and when they say everyone, they mean everyone. If you know your Indie films well, what this means will be instantly apparent but seeing it played out is even more powerful than you would believe and it gives us an insight into our lead that few other films would ever manage. I know that's cryptic but watch the film and you'll find out what I mean.

This film being animated, I have to touch on the animation style. It's phenomenal. The animation isn't particularly stylized in the way that, say, Inside Out is but that's not why it's phenomenal. Despite every character being a puppet, it all feels so very real. When you're seeing some of these movements, it's tricky to remind yourself that people had to move these models slowly and take gradual pictures, with minutes of film taking days. I tip my hat to the entire animation team on this film, they did an unbelievable job. What I also found so interesting is (without spoiling too much) the way that they use animation as part of the film. You can see the joints in all the characters and in every character that isn't one of the main two, they all share the same face. It's genius. Charlie Kaufman has done it again and managed to take an old format like animation and use it in such a fresh way. If I sound really nerdy here, it's because it's so impressive and the standout reason to see the film.

I wouldn't recommend this film to everyone because it's just so utterly bizarre. For those of you who are happy to embrace the weird, however, you will really enjoy this film. It's happy and sad and heartbreaking in all the beautiful ways that Eternal Sunshine was. I laughed, I was weirded out and I came very close to crying because this film is an absolute emotional tour de force. Most importantly, I feel like it will grow on me like all my favourite films as in the days because since I saw it, I already feel that my love for it has grown. For those who can appreciate the weird and are looking for something different, I highly recommend Anomalisa, which I happily give the perfect score of

Edit: I just found out that Co-Director Duke Johnson, responsible for most of the animation, also directed the animated Christmas episode of Community which is one of the best of the whole series. Just thought I'd say it, this guy has talent