Anomalisa (2015)
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A lonely man who perceives everyone as identical meets a woman who stands out as a unique anomaly.
The story
In 2005, middle-aged English-born lonely customer service expert and motivational speaker Michael Stone travels to Cincinnati, Ohio to promote his latest book at a convention at the Fregoli Hotel. He feels distant from everyone around him, whom he perceives as having an identical face and voice, including his wife and son. While practicing his speech, he is haunted by memories of a former lover. After a series of interactions, he meets Lisa, an insecure young woman attending the convention. Enraptured by her unique appearance and voice, he invites her for drinks, leading to an intimate encounter where she becomes his 'Anomalisa'.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2005, Michael Stone, a lonely motivational speaker, travels to Cincinnati to promote a book. He suffers from a perception that everyone has identical faces and voices, except for Lisa Hesselman, whom he meets at a hotel. After an intimate encounter with Lisa, Michael experiences a nightmare where his face falls off and identical people pursue him. This inspires him to propose a new life with Lisa. However, her habits soon annoy him, and her appearance begins to revert to the identical faces of others. During a convention speech, Michael suffers a public breakdown. He eventually returns home to Los Angeles, where he gives a Japanese animatronic doll to his son. The doll, which bears facial damage similar to Lisa's, begins to sing a Japanese children's song as Michael sits alone, while Lisa writes him a letter from a distance.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Charlie Kaufman; Duke Johnson
- Writers
- Charlie Kaufman · writer; Charlie Kaufman · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Jennifer Jason Leigh · Lisa Hesselman; Tom Noonan · everyone else; David Thewlis · Michael Stone
- Genres
- adult animated comedy-drama; psychological drama; romantic comedy; self-reflexive fiction; surrealist
- Themes
- self-absorption; isolation; identity; depression
- Tone and mood
- surrealist; introspective; funny; horror; sci-fi dystopia
- Premise and plot tags
- adult animated; psychological drama; romantic comedy; surrealist; independent; stop-motion
- Source material / true-story basis
- Kaufman's 2005 audio play
- Content notes
- R-rated
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim, with praise for its screenplay, direction, and thematic content. It was noted for its distinctive style and was listed on numerous critics' top ten lists for 2015.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 88 · scale: 100 · review count: 46
- Awards and nominations
- Grand Jury Prize · Venice International Film Festival · won; Academy Award · Best Animated Feature · nominated; Golden Globe Award · Best Animated Feature Film · nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was initially pitched as a 40-minute short film.; The puppets were created using 3D printers, with 18 Michaels and 6 Lisas produced.; The film was the first animated film to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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