Mary and Max
2009 · Directed by Adam Elliot
Original language: English
- animation
- comedy
- drama
The story
A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York.
What it’s like
Stop-motion clay figures with thumbprint-textured faces, lit in muted, slightly grubby tones: drab Melbourne browns and greys, the warm amber of a kitchen cupboard, and New York rendered in dense, smoky blue-grey. The camera stays mostly still and frontal, letting the clay characters sit in their cramped rooms, while narration and letters carry much of the feeling. The score is wistful accordion and piano, with long pauses that let a line of dialogue land. Vibe: wry, melancholy, quietly tender, with the odd sudden burst of absurd humour. It suits a grey afternoon, a late-night watch alone, or a rewatch for anyone who likes sadness and warmth kept in balance. Intensity: the film is gentle in manner, but it deals openly with loneliness, depression, a suicide attempt, bullying, and grief, and some scenes are sad and blunt. There is no gore and little on-screen violence. For people who want a funny, sad, humane story about two lonely people finding each other across distance, with an offbeat, handmade look.
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