Review XLV
Mary and Max (2009)
I was born into the generation of computers where written letters have been rendered practically obsolete. However, I have had "pen pals" of sorts. Growing up, I met someone while on vacation who I would write letters to every blue moon (this was before I used the computer, except to draw really horrible pictures on Paint), and when my very good friend moved away, we initially corresponded with letters. I did have a friend, though, who had a pen pal from Trinidad and Tobago, and I always thought it must be so cool to have someone to write who you had never met. Well, Adam Elliot's claymation film Mary and Max does just this, and in quite a unique way.
Mary Daisy Dinkle (voiced by Bethany Whitmore when younger and Toni Collette when older) is an eight-year-old girl living in Mount Waverley, Melbourne, Australia with no friends except for her pet rooster and her self-made Noblet figurines. With her neglectful father who is more interested in stuffing roadkill and her alcoholic and kleptomaniac mother, she feels quite alone in the world. One day, while at the post office, she decides to ask an American where babies come from, as her grandfather told her babies are found at the bottom of beer mugs. She randomly chooses to write to a man named Max Jerry Horovitz (voiced by Philip Seymour Hoffman). Max Horovitz is a forty-four year old who lives in New York City, United States and suffers a weight problem. The man is awkward socially and, consequently, also has no friends. The two form an unlikely friendship and learn to face the world together even though they are thousands of kilometers apart.
The claymation was very well done. I've always admired clay-animation; it looks like it is so fun to work with, but it is extremely time-consuming, especially if you want it to be super smooth. Mary and Max displays a beautifully crafted film with the use of clay-animation.
We also have the wonderful narrator, Barry Humphries, to tell us the interludes in this tale. The other voice actors were also great. When I saw Philip Seymour Hoffman was a voice actor for this film, I was ecstatic. I really like Philip Seymour Hoffman for some reason... Bethany Whitmore did a great job as young Mary, and Toni Collette, while we don't hear her voice much, also did a great job.
Initially, I thought this would be a children's film with adult themes intertwined in the mix. I guess I should have realised that, considering the plot involves a forty-four year old man writing to a little girl, it would be kind of strange if this was a film for kids... Either way, the film is definitely not for children. The film deals with mature themes in an explicit manner, and I thought it was amazingly done. Mary and Max walks on a line between extremely hilarious and happy and extremely depressing and devoid of humour. Mary is in such a sad state, teased because of the birthmark on her forehead, thus isolated at school, and having such neglectful parents, and, even with Mary being completely oblivious to the whole ordeal, you feel you should be breaking down emotionally for her. Yet her ignorance leaves her in a blissful state where she makes a new friend and grows up crushing on her neighbour, Damien Popodopoulos (ahhh, Greeks), voiced by Eric Bana. Max isn't much better off. He is morbidly obese and suffers from an extreme form of Asperger syndrome, a syndrome that makes you unable to really understand people on an emotional level (though not an extreme case of autism, it still affects you enough for it to be noticeable). Again, you feel horrible for him, but the film doesn't let you tip to the depressing side. Because the two have each other, you're kept on this line. Okay, it is true that you dip into the depressing side at some points, but you equally dip into the happy parts. If you didn't change emotionally at all, the film would be static, but still, the film is able to combine both extremes so well. It's amazing because so many films attempt this but cannot master it. Mary and Max totally nails it. It's just... wow. It was really well done. I'm really sad I never heard about this film before because it's a really, really good movie! I've had a personal experience with both someone who had Asperger and depression (the depression case was someone very close to me), and I find this film deals with both realistically. I can't praise this film enough. Thank you, Adam Elliot, for making a great clay-animation film with such a great plot.
I'd give this film eight point eight stars on ten. I thought it was really well done, able to tell her a better story in ninety-two minutes than some movies can in one hundred and twenty minutes. There is always room for improvement, but, honestly, I think this film did a superb job. Love yourself first, folks, and you're set.
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