Review of Anomalisa (2015) by V A — 21 Feb 2016

Itâ??s hard not to be touched by Anomalisa: a stop-motion-animated jewel that is bestowed upon us by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson. Anomalisa plunges us into the subjective experience of Michael Stone, a lonely guy who travels to Cincinnati for a conference and finds himself in a situation in which his perception of women and the people around him, the nature of relationships, and his ego, get challenged. It features the incredible voice-over acting of David Thewlis as Michael and the heartwarming voice-over of Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lisa.

Michael is basically in every scene of Anomalisa, and what is great about the writing is that for the first chunk of the film you think you know what type of person he is, but you really do not. He is introduced as a really important and famous person that has the hotel receptionist almost drooling for him. As someone who canâ??t stand the absurdity of small talk, and as someone who has no problem whatsoever with enjoying loneliness. But then you realize he is just famous within the customer service professionals (can it get duller than that?) that is simply unhappy with his life and the people that partake in it. He sees every person around him with the same physiognomy and listens to the same voice in them (they use the same voice actor for all secondary characters in this film, regardless of gender, which is pretty hilarious).

This happens until he meets Lisa at the hotel, a woman who is a fan of his work and that did everything in her power to attend the conference and see him speak. Michael is so heartstruck by Lisa that he does not see the same homogeneous face in her, and also he is able to capture her own voice, unlike the voice he hears in everyone. He is bewildered by her unconventional beauty, her voice, her outgoing but demurred personality, and most importantly, the fact the she is an anomaly and sheâ??s not like everyone else.

Lisa is also profoundly affected by her encounter with Michael. She is the type of woman that does not get a lot of attention from men, but also the type of person who is conscious about it and does not let it affect her very much. She is also naive and docile. Therefore, having her business idol like her, it makes her feel special, like never before.

That is until things go further in Michael and Lisaâ??s overnight relationship (spoilers ahead). As expected, and in line with what humans in general usually do, Michael ceases to feel that Lisa is special in the morning after having sex with her. His mind replaces her face and voice with everyone elseâ??s, thus revealing that Michael was not really mesmerized by the â??anomalisticâ?? nature of Lisaâ??s personality, nor everything else he said to her. This reveal of Michaelâ??s personality is an intrinsic trait that most humans have, especially menâ?¦and most especially lonely men. That they would do everything thatâ??s possible, even fake being heartstruck by someone, to get into their pants and fulfill that sex drive. This uncovers a desperate man, with a history of telling women that they are special and leaving them afterwards to go and look for someone else to replenish his loneliness and low expectations in life. A low-key predator. I have absolutely no clue if this was what Charlie Kaufman intended when he wrote the story, however it is great how this story can lend itself to so many interpretations.

Anomalisa is a heartbreaking depiction of the effects of a one-night stand on an under-appreciated person and a thoughtful study on the human experience, which includes loneliness, relationships, and sex. It is a marvel to look at visually, it is funny, witty, creative, and it has an unbelievable power of making its audience to engage in self-analysis. And last but not least, there are about a solid 20 minutes where Anomalisa mocks the absurdity and insignificance of small talk, and it is absolutely brilliant. One of the best films of the year.