FNC 2009: MARY AND MAX Review

In my recent review of Metropia, I complained mostly about the film using animation in order to tell a predictable Orwellian story. Animation is capable of so much, it should go beyond the specific genres the majority of the productions stay into. With that in mind, I was quite happy to discover an Australian film that did just that, the truly amazing drama Mary and Max.

Mary lives in a small town in Australia. Life is rough on the little girl. Bullied at school and living with an alcoholic mother and a father who prefers the company of stuffed animals than people, all she wants is a friend to break her loneliness. Being naturally curious, she wonders about many things in life, including, of course, where babies come from. Her now deceased grand-father told her men find them at the bottom of their glass of beer, but is it the same in the United States ? In order to find out, she randomly picks up a name in a New York phone book and send a letter to the lucky winner. That person is Max, a man in his forties whose as lonely as Mary. To get away from the pains of outside world, he built himself a small world in his tiny appartment where he can watch cartoons, eat chocolote hot-dog (his favourite snack) and spend time with his pets and his imaginary friend named Mr Ravioli. Mary's letter breaks his routine and brings unwanted anxiety. It will take Max a lot of courage to answer it, but his decision will lead to a correspondance that will last years and from which a strong friendship will be born.

We could mention the wonderful stop-motion animation as it deserves a worthy mention, but when you watch this film, the story becomes quickly so poignant you suddendly forget about it. Adam Elliot tells with dark humour a bittersweet story on mental hillness, modern solitude and the power of friendship. His characters are made of clay, but they're more human than many protagonists met in live-action films and even known they live in a fantasy world, the many struggles they have to face are so real they bring tears to the eyes. 

Mary and Max is more than the best animated film of the year, it is also another proof that a good story, no matter the genre you work with, is still one of the best tool to touch your audience.