IR: Mary and Max

Mary Dinkle, an unhappy, lonely girl in Australia, decides one day to write to an American to ask where babies come from in that far off land. She picks at random and gets Max Horowitz, an obese man with Aspegers syndrome. The two form a faltering, unlikely friendship through their letters, and find in each other something that has been missing in their lives.

Having seen the trailer for this, I was very put off viewing it in its entirety because of the ugliness of the character and set design. It was only on Jim’s insistence that we watched it at all, him being a lot more generously tolerant of such things. Mary has tiny pebble eyes and no neck, and Max has sticking out ears and a waist as wide as he is tall, with his ‘back bosom’ constantly revealed. The film is mostly in monochrome, with a few objects in red and yellow and brown, making everyone seem pallid and dull. Despite all this, I was persuaded to watch, and here’s what I thought of it…
The plot itself is quite sweet, telling the story of a young lonely girl who randomly contacts Max because he is American, and she wants to know where American babies come from. The whimsy and idiosyncrasies remind me of one of my favourite films, Amelie, being very much about the two characters and their particular interpretations of the world and comforting habits. Mary is still finding out about life and has to rely on what people tell her, whereas Max is discovered to have Aspergers Syndrome, which makes him unable to read other people easily. They both share a love of chocolate and The Noblets, a cartoon about a community of creatures, who are envied by both for their abundance of friends. I did enjoy this interaction between them, which is done by post with frequent gifts being exchanged, and also their thoughts are explained individually by the narrator, whose opening sentence states that Mary’s birthmark is the colour of poo.
It was much darker than I had anticipated, chronicling near-suicidal meltdowns by both at different times of their relationship. Death and substance abuse feature heavily. However, I thought that this was well done and necessary for it to be a strong film, and it was an interesting insight into mental illness. The ugliness still irked me, but I got used to it and enjoyed watching Mary and Max. I have to admit it, it was a pretty good film after all.

4/5

Its great to see this just after Wallace and Gromit; the differences between the two films are so stark that it demonstrates just how worthwhile frame-by-frame claymation is as a medium, in this age of CGI. Mary and Max is grim, grubby and macabre, treading the line between black comedy and dramatic tragedy superbly. The sculpting and modelling team revel in the textures of grime and decay until you feel you could not only reach out and touch the picture, but would really need to wash your hands after you did.
The plot is rather tiring though, following as it does the unpredictable patterns of life rather than the traditional three act structure...I can truly believe the claim 'based on a true story', so often misappropriated, is completely true for this film. Certain scenes drag whilst others zip by too quickly. It feels more like a documentary than a feature film, which may well be the aim. The portrayals of what must be said are two very depressing lives are sensitive but humorous, and remind us, particularly in a sequence where Max is sent to a mental institution, just how far attitudes towards autism have progressed in the last 30 years (the film is set during the 70s and 80s).
The film is carried 100% by Barry Humphries charming, urbane narration, which makes even the most tragic observations gentle. The two leads (Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman) are great too, but it is definitely Mr. Humphries who shines brightest.
In conclusion- spectacular, virtuoso animation, some laughs and quite a few tears; a vision of hope in darkness, like the stars Max loves to count in the night sky.

3/5