Mary and Max (2009) Review
Director - Adam Elliot
Mary Daisy Dinkle - Toni Collette
Max Jerry Horovitz -Philip Seymour Hoffman
Fig.1. Poster image
Mary Daisy Dinkle is a lonely and bullied eight-year-old girl living in Austrailia. Her mother is an alcoholic and her father is a dull and unfatherly character. One day whilst waiting for her mother in the post office, Mary finds a New York phonebook and decides to send a letter to a random person. Her letter makes it's way to melchony fat man, Max Jerry Horovitz, whom is also in despret need for friendship and company. This claymation shows the life of their pen-pal relationship as it progresses.
Fig.2.
Mary and Max is beautiful in every way, the characters are enriched with style, the animation is perfect and the comedy is at the right amount. What is noticed at first is when there is a shot of anyone other than Mary and Max, the scene is full with objects and sometimes movement, but the shots of the main characters show a lonely scene. This is a great technique to express their loneliness. I admire the way the director has used the disadvantage of small models in claymation and used them to his advantage. For example the characters only express common expression that are easy to portray and camera movements are kept to a minimum but to high effects.
Fig.3.
The way the film ended was pleasing, I think that having the characters not truly meeting, allows the film to keep the strength and passion of the friendship that was created by the letters. This ending forces the audience to keep back the tears of sadness and happiness.
"Like Mary and Max’s friendship, this movie is an act of tenderness that will linger long after the closing credits roll." - Jeff Giles
Bibliography
Jeff Giles, (2009), http://collider.com/mary-and-max-review/9469/, Accessed on 31st January 2012
Illustration Bibliography
Fig.1. Poster image - http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Max-Toni-Collette/dp/B00366E1E6
No comments:
Post a Comment