Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»1234. Anomalisa (2015)

    1234. Anomalisa (2015)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on January 28, 2016 2015, 8 - 10, 90-99 mins, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Jan 16, Movies Of 2016, Review, United States
    8.4 Brilliant
    • Acting 8.3
    • Directing 8.5
    • Story 8.5
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan

    Director: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman

    Running Time: 90 mins


    Anomalisa is an American film about a middle-aged man who, tired with the repetitive and mundane nature of his life, has an extraordinary experience while staying at a luxury hotel in Cincinatti.

    An animated film about a guy having a mid-life crisis in a hotel. Doesn’t sound like much, but Anomalisa is an amazing film. With a screenplay that keeps you completely invigorated in its bizarre yet unflinchingly fascinating story, very impressive voice performances and direction that creates an incredibly powerful and unsettling atmosphere, there’s a lot to praise here, because it’s simply a fantastic film.

    Let’s start with what was by far the most impressive part of the whole film: the story. In a way, it’s at times a lot like American Beauty in a lot of its themes, regarding modern society and the mundainity of modern life, as well as the more satirical depressing tone of the first act. That aspect to the film is fascinating, but it’s not the thing that really makes this a really eye-catching watch, because we have seen that sort of thing before.

    What’s most impressive is the direction that this story takes to delve into the deep psychological trauma that this man is suffering over the course of this hectic night in his life. He’s a lonely, frustrated man, and his burst of emotion when he begins to have new-found feelings for a woman he meets on the night is really powerful to watch.

    Beyond that, however, the story of this film is always weird. Set amongst the corridors of a hotel at night, there’s a brilliantly uneasy tone that develops and grows as the film goes on that really makes you feel like you’re in a nightmare. It links in with the man’s emotional turmoil, but through the brilliant direction and some of the strangest world-building ideas I’ve ever come across, it’s tough to really know whether you’re just in a bad dream or not, in a way that eerily feels a lot like David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.

    The performances here are also absolutely fantastic. Tom Noonan, in a variety of, shall we say, unorthodox voice roles, is fantastic, as is Jennifer Jason Leigh, but David Thewlis in the lead is stunning. He perfectly conveys his character’s frustration with everything around him, and yet still allows you to sympathise with him as he begins to feel happy, and not lonely, for once, which was fantastic to see.

    And the film all comes together in some of the most enthralling dialogue scenes I’ve seen in a long time. The screenplay is so well-written, and feels so natural, allowing you to completely invest yourself in the events on screen, whilst the performances and the direction add to the intrigue and mystery of every scene by making it so unnerving and emotionally impacting, a demonstration of how straight-up brilliant this film is.

    Overall, I’ll give Anomalisa an 8.4, because it’s an absolutely enthralling film that not only gives a fascinating insight into a man’s mid-life crisis and frustration with modern life, but creates some extremely unique and bizarre scenarios that make this a really striking film to watch.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.6
    Review
    April 6, 20180

    2108. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

    8.7
    Review
    May 4, 20220

    3728. Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

    9.9
    Review
    August 31, 20140

    675. Two For The Road (1967)

    8.9
    Review
    December 8, 20130

    376. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

    8.0
    Review
    September 24, 20210

    3489. Chocolat (2000)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.