Review of Your Name. (2016) by Stuart M — 20 Mar 2017

Your Name is a great film. It has two carefully drawn leads who receive approximately equal attention and a body-swapping and supernatural plot that really grips you. You really care about the characters by the end, and you have to enjoy them as they try, Sam Becket-style, to come to terms with their situation. The animation is absolutely first rate. I've rarely seen such beautifully rendered scenery and environments.

I think my biggest disappointment is that the film is actually a bit of a bait-and-switch. The basic lure is the body-swapping thing, and it's handled well. It deals with the awkwardness of interacting with the world as someone of the opposite gender, but more than that as someone from a very different background and environment. That's what everyone came to see. But about halfay through the film it switches to being something completely different. Don't get me wrong: it still works as a movie (and by that point you're involved enough to really care) but I enjoyed the earlier bits more and kind of wished the film had dealt with the issues raised there instead of looking for new ones.