Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Charlie Kaufman is always been considered a visionary and groundbreaking screenwriter. Winner of several awards his reputation always related to twisted stories with a very personal and human quality. Adaptation, Synecdote New York, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Eternal of The Spotless Mind, represents a bod of work, where the main character is the human emotions, most of his characters are empty and they are looking for a way to escape from the reality.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

In Anomalisa, directed by Kaufman and Duke Johnson a truly visionary stop motion animated film we been introduce to Michael Stone (David Thewlis) a book author traveling to Cincinnati for a conference where he will be the speaker. His book is a exploration of how costumer service can fix the struggles of connect with people. From the very beginning Michael is the victim of what he been trying to achieve in his book. He is a very introspective person who cannot relate to people, he is a jerk and you notice every time he opens his mouth. Michael is not interested in the weather, if the Cincinati Zoo is the best, he seems to be a practical person who is not interested in explanations or engagements, he just wants things done.

In a way I relate to him, because the world is now immerse in banalities that could be pretty normal for some, but for me its superficiality. The masterful script by Kaufman reveals a very strange phenomenon to Michael and the audience seems to be confused about it. Every single character have the same voice (Tom Noonan) This adds up to the routine that Michael live every day, is a constant reminder of the daily routine that he lives or some people live. All the sounds are the same and for Michael even his wife and kid sounds the same.

To me is a metaphor of a routine life in America, you drink the same juice, you walk the same steps, you take the same train and you work the same work every day without challenges or variations.

After a sudden events that involves Michael meeting with his lost love, he meet Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and fan of his book and also a very introspective and shy girl who loves Cyndi Lauper. Lisa is different from the very beginning not because she have the only female voice is because she is different and her behavior raise interest in Michael. Is not aiming for a beautiful or sexy girl, his obsession with her is about her voice and her ability of be different from the sea of people who are just the same.

Kaufman and Johnson exploration of life, loneliness, human connection represents in a way a very eccentric story, but the meaning is powerful. I wish that the movie was trimmed at least 10 min just to make it perfect. Overall is a great movie. With two confusing parts in the story.

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