by Foster Harlfinger, Contributing Writer
Welcome to this month’s Animation Celebration, a series where we shine a light on underseen animated films that deserve some extra love.
When offered the chance to write my first entry in this series, one film immediately came to mind. I first watched Mary and Max, an Australian stop-motion film from 2009, a few months back. Though I have seen several dozen films since, I can safely say that none have come close to Mary and Max in terms of emotional impact.
Adam Elliot’s only feature film to date employs a simple, yet highly effective back-and-forth structure as the film’s story alternates between the lives of its two title characters. We are first introduced to eight-year-old Mary Daisy Dinkle (Bethany Whitmore and Toni Collette), a sweet Australian girl with a distant father and an alcoholic mother. The film’s melancholic tone is established early on when we realize that Mary is bullied at school for an unsightly birthmark which rests squarely in the center of her forehead.
One day, Mary decides that she would like a pen pal. She sifts through a New York City phone book and selects a name at random: Max Jerry Horowitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman). To call Mary and Max an unlikely pair would be an understatement. Max, living halfway across the globe from Mary, is a morbidly obese 44-year-old man with Asperger’s syndrome and severe anxiety. However, in spite of their surface level differences, the pair soon bond over their shared experiences living as outsiders in their respective communities. But also chocolate. Mary and Max love chocolate.
The strength of the film’s decades-long central friendship comes from its commitment to nuance and emotional truth. Though completely platonic, Mary and Max’s relationship certainly pushes the boundaries of social acceptability. Even so, there is an inherent beauty in the way that the pair’s friendship is able to ground them throughout life’s ups and many downs. You will find yourself falling in love with these wonderfully imperfect souls, rejoicing in their triumphs and sharing in their sorrows. Needless to say, Mary and Max is an animated film for adults. The film tackles numerous complex themes and does not shy away from occasionally upsetting imagery and plot developments.
Despite the film’s heavy emotion, Mary and Max remains a highly watchable and even humorous time, largely due to Elliot’s tremendous stop-motion animation. The mostly grayscale color palette allows for the few vibrant bursts of color to truly pop. Elliot’s depiction of New York City, in particular, stands out as one of the most visually striking portrayals of the city ever put to film. Likewise, Elliot’s characters were designed with such obvious love and care that you will have to frequently remind yourself that they are, in fact, animated characters. Of course, it doesn’t hurt when your leads are voiced by two of the most talented actors alive with Collette and Hoffman. It may sound silly to suggest that Hoffman delivers one of his most memorable and emotionally resonant performances in this animated film, but it’s the truth.
Mary and Max deserves the highest of recommendations. The 57 weeks it took to photograph the film result in a highly personal and affecting story centered around a uniquely beautiful friendship. Mary and Max offers brilliant animation, lovable vocal performances, and a final shot, as haunting as it is uplifting, which will stick with you for the rest of your life.
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