Film: Mary and Max

Director:Adam Elliot
Genre: Animated Comedy Drama
Source: Australia (2009)
Rating: NR (PG-13?)
Location/Format: Netflix Instant Watch
Grade: A-

It's hard not to fall in love with the characters of Mary and Max (and with the film Mary and Max). The two are so delightfully odd--and so tragicomically (is that a word?) real--that you can't help but see in them every time you were left out, or didn't fit in, or weren't . . . valued. They are misfits, but they--like most misfits--don't understand why they're misfits. They just see the world ignoring them. The film wears its heart on its sleeve, and of course any heart exposed like that is an open wound too tender to the touch. But mostly it's about finding someone else who sees your heart, and carefully places it back in your chest, and bandages you back up. 

And then maybe shares some chocolate with you to help you feel better.

There's a delightful sense of fun and optimism in the film that stands out against its caricatured character design and black and brown palette. It has been said that the difference between comedy and tragedy is distance, but Mary and Max suggests that perhaps the difference between the two is more about whether or not you have someone to share it with. Mimes killed by falling air conditioners, an increasingly absurd series of goldfish deaths, alcoholism, suicide attempts, broken hearts, agoraphobia--life is filled with chaos and unfairness, but that doesn't mean we have to lose hope. Finding another voice to talk to in the darkness can make even the worst of experiences bearable. And that in itself is beautiful.

I picked this film as an extra credit film in my high school Intro to Film Studies class. We started out the semester looking at "the state of film today" before we jump backwards into film history, so I wanted to show my students something with mass appeal and star-powered and big-business and contrast it with something personal and unique and small. I'll find out soon if any of them took me up on it. I hope so. This is a film with a lot of beauty, a lot of humor, and a lot of soul. I loved it.

Alternate Film Title: "Unexpected Eric Bana Cameo"