Anomalisa is a beautiful juxtaposition: an almost unbearably intimate and personal story of falling in and out of love, that most human of experiences, told via high-end puppetry. I think it’s safe to assume that, for many people, Anomalisa is the very reason the phrase “hard pass” was invented. But the rest of us owe writer/director Charlie Kaufman and stop-motion/animator Duke Johnson a big thank you (although they can also thank us, since the film was funded via a Kickstarter).
Anomalisa focuses on British middle-aged customer service guru Michael Stone (voiced by David Thewlis), woefully unhappy in his marriage and trapped in a Cincinnatti hotel for a conference in which he is a guest speaker. While mired in this most banal of circumstances, Stone questions his life, attempts to rekindle an old romance, gets drunk, buys a sex toy, make a genuine romantic connection, and shows off his puppet dick. You know, classic Cincy stuff.
Oh right, time to remind you that Anomalisa is told entirely via puppets: picture Team America, but exquisite and evocative instead of deliberately hokey. Kaufman and Johnson display spectacular attention to detail, perfectly capturing the hollow anonymity and unbearably sadness of hotel rooms, customer service, and Cincinnati. These haunting notes are present in the screenplay’s bittersweet, yearning tones, as well as the incredibly life-like, evocative puppetry and art design. Anomalisa is a film with several layers and a lot of insight; it is awfully sad, but also unexpectedly uplifting and touching. A fascinating, highly rewarding experience.
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