Mary and Max

Elliot explores the film’s central themes of loneliness, mental illness, love and friendship, all with a deft balance of humour, sadness and subtlety.

Mary and Max’s jauntiness fades into a sadness that culminates on a note of self-acceptance -- and a great gratitude for the sustaining, redemptive power of friendship.

Elliot is a talent eccentric enough to make Nick Park look like an office drone, and the serious sadness underpinning his vision only makes the humour work better.

Tackling such un-animation topics as loneliness, body image, alcoholism, suicide and Asperger’s syndrome, it’s quirky, compassionate and slightly seedily sweet.

Both characters are endearingly freakish to look at, yet Eliot’s skill is to infuse them with such vulnerable tendencies and believable characteristics as to render them immediately human.

You have to admire the ambition, even if Elliot doesn't always seem certain if he's laughing with or at his creations.

Has its share of deadpan amusements, but its combo of mordant whimsy and tearjerker moments winds up curdling in an unappetizing fashion.

朴素的粘土动画，但涉及的却是沉重的话题：关于自杀、酗酒、死亡、性和精神疾病。故事充满了黑色而怪诞的幽默感。麦克斯的台词深受这类人群喜爱，而他的语言更像大众的警示语。片中所有透露的信息，让观众看到了人与人之间最本真，最质朴的交流。 看惯了大银幕上飞檐走壁的动画电影，《玛丽和麦克斯》会产生强大的视觉反差，因为它没有3D技术，没有程序输入就能做表情的高科技，更没有夸张搞笑到无法理解的桥段，银幕上所有的一切只能用“土”来做解释：片中所有人物都是用粘土捏制完成，你甚至还能看到娃娃身上的、制作人员留下的指纹

I was so utterly impressed with Memoir of a Snail that I had to return to the author's previously praised work and see Mary and Max. Darker, less humorous, and equally deep-cutting, but working slightly less interestingly as a story, I liked the film, but not nearly as much as his previous work. The narration here is again strong, but when it meanders to the smaller and quirkier habits of characters that have less to do with the plot it's not always equality fun, occasionally dragging the pace of the picture. Philip Seymour Hoffman, as always, does a great job of bringing Max to life by offering his voice. You truly feel for Max and his difficult life. The contrast between brown Australia, and dark mostly black and white New York also works very well. Mary's life still has ways of going in the right direction, even though her childhood is super far from ideal, while Max is trapped in a world that offers very little joy for a person like him. A small girl being a pen pal with an older obese man is something that takes time for you to accept, as off the bat it sounds disturbing. And it is disturbing, but not for the reason one might think by just reading the film's synopsis. Both of the characters are lost in their lives, and in desperate need of connection, and warmth from other human beings. Max's condition explains many things about his character, and life, and only makes the story darker and more depressing, as he is a human being whose condition enables him to fully function by himself, left alone from a very early point in his life. Music works every single time. The rendition of Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) is just perfect, as it compliments the best scene in the film that illustrates the importance of self-love, and understanding self-worth which helps us navigate through the dark times, and dark times are present for everyone. Overall, it's a hard film to recommend, but at the same time, it's a very strong, important watch. I think Memoir of a Snail from the same creator works just a bit better both in its darkness and light, and made me more emotional, while this piece just made me numb. It's equally as though-provoking, and a piece of animation unlike anything mainstream.