Uneven ‘Anomalisa’ is an Animated Reflection Back to Us

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Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – There is directness in the reflective philosophy of “Anomalisa,” but there is also a sense of disconnection. From writer/co-director Charlie Kaufman (“Being John Malkovich”) comes another meditation on the life of life, and the twists of fate that inhabit the journey.

If this were a live action film instead of a stop-motion animated effort, there would little to distinguish it from any other independent film-style character study. The main character is stuck in a loop, so much so that the other people in his world sound exactly the same to him. The “Anomalisa” character of the title does little to fulfill her promise as his break from the normalcy. There are many weird features of the film – characteristic of Charlie Kaufman – and with its method of animation and philosophy it’s enough to recommend it, but be wary of its slow pace and use of awkward surreal moments to pad the story. Taken in as a complete work, it does score as “we have met the enemy and they are us.”

Michael Stone (voice of David Thewlis) is a customer service guru, and has written several books on the subject. But his personal life is in a rut, and he the sound of the world and everything else in his life is the same bland voice (Tom Noonan), whether man or woman. His attendance at a convention comes at a crossroad in his “normal” existence.

Stop Motion Characters Michael (voice of David Thewlis) and Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh) in ‘Anomalisa’
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

At this conference, he meets Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and suddenly he’s not hearing that same voice. He seduces her, and she reluctantly goes along (he’s literally the Elvis of customer service ideology). Their brief affair revives Michael’s outlook, but the price he has to pay might not be enough to turn his life around. The anomaly of Lisa may be a blessing and a curse.

Yes, the title is a confluence of “anomaly” and “Lisa” and that is exceedingly clever, in a Charlie Kaufman way (and sums up the movie with one word), and the animation is fascinating enough to make this an experience. But the story is unsettling and off-putting, especially in the way the Lisa character is handled. Life can be unpleasant for people like her, the film seems to say, and even in a type of redemption there is not much to be gained. Michael doesn’t have many other options, but his status affords him a desperate leeway.

The stop motion style is very specific, and blurs the distinction between this type of animation and reality, which makes the story that much more uncomfortable. The blankness of the faces, with the expressions through the eyes and brow, adds to the redundancy loop of Michael, and is a reminder of how blank the world in general can be. This formulation is vital to the the philosophy of the tale, and is a vital strength of the film. Co-director Duke Johnson, who had helmed a TV series called “Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole,” helped to evolve Kaufman’s stop-motion vision in “Anomalisa.”

The two main characters, Michael and Lisa, have a separation even as they come together. Does a explicit sex scene make us squirm more if it’s done through stop motion puppets? It certainly added to the obvious lack of connection between the characters. We all know people like Lisa, and as the movie opines that Michael believes her to be special, we also know – through the way the film treats her – that ultimately this isn’t true (or is it?). In a crazy, difficult and cruel world, the film points out that most of us are Lisa.

Michael is Himself Reflective in ‘Anomalisa’
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

Like a painting that frustrates and intrigues, the definition of the film is in the individual interpretation, but the story is also paced like a glacier and has bizarre moments that don’t fit, which felt like padding. Michael has a rant that also felt tacked on, and it was like a hole of rhetoric in the narrative roof, which let in too much rain. These story burps can be viewed as either Charlie-Kaufman-esque indulgence or frustrating pockmarks on what could have been a more classical symphony or emotional vibration.

Ack! I sound like a professor, which has given me a headache. In essence, we’re all Michael Stone, with our moments of Amomalisas, in either the individuals we meet or the breaks in our routine. Since the film is such a reminder of this, it reflects right to you. As for me, ack, ack, ack, ack, ack…

CLICK HERE for an interview with co-directors Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, which could clarify some of my “ack” attacks.

By PATRICK McDONALD Writer, Editorial Coordinator HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com