Review of Anomalisa (2015) by Samichsupernova — 31 Dec 2015

"Anomalisa" is a seriously beautiful experience and a hell of a thought-provoking meditation on human loneliness and longing. It's an examination of what makes us so damaged and hurt and frail and yet capable of both love and fear in equal measure.

If you look at just the bare bones plot of this story or get too caught up in judging the narcissistic protagonist, you're missing the point. Here the devil is in the meticulous details and specificity of the emotional journey our protagonist is on. The movie's thesis really manifests in the third act which hits really hard. This isn't your typical love story. It's a story about existential crises and the paradoxical nature of love in our twisted modern age. We are all both Michael and Lisa whether we know it or not. We all just want to love and be loved. But that happiness is so hard to find in a world where, as the customer service mantra-speech Michael is set to deliver proves, people need to be reminded constantly that every person is an individual and that every individual has needs.

As might be expected from legendary scribe Charlie Kaufman, it's heavy, darkly funny, and existential as hell, but anyone expecting something as epic, layered with subtext, and intricate as his magnum opus "Synecdoche, New York" should be forewarned that this is almost the opposite of that film. It's very specific and intimate, almost disturbingly so, uncannily insightful in the subject of loneliness, and precise in handling its subject matter. For that reason, it may also hit harder and closer to home for most people than the labyrinthine, grandiose meta-fiction of "Synecdoche" (which is one of my all-time favorite films, like seriously top 3 material). In some ways this film is even more painstaking than "Synecdoche" because it recreates our boring old world down to the minutest detail in stop-motion animation.

I also love all the questions Mr. Kaufman posits (can we really love someone if we don't love ourselves? what is the relationship between love and attachment? where does the individual end? why do we hurt so badly and continue to hurt others if we know how badly it feels? how do we justify our selfish actions? is this really what love has become in our corporatized world?).

"Anomalisa" is not going to please everyone and in fact it may make a lot of people uncomfortable, but ****, I loved the ever-loving hell out of its awkward, anomalous brilliance. I'm really gonna have to see this one again.