Mary and Max - A tale of friendship

Rating: 10/10 (30 June 2016)

"The reason I forgive you is because you are not perfect. You are imperfect. And so am I. All humans are imperfect." It is pretty rare to connect so deeply with an animated film. The animated aspect can often serve as a barrier that prevents people from deeply identifying with the characters they are witnessing on screen and therefore prevents them from deeply caring for them. With Mary and Max, this couldn't be farther from the truth. This is a film that I think I, and many others, will remember for a long time.
This film is a poignant clay-animation film that records the 20 year relationship between two social eccentrics. Mary Daisy Dinkle (voiced by Bethany Whitmore as a child and Toni Colette as an adult), is a lonely 8 year old who lives in Austrailia who loves condensed milk, her pet rooster and a smurfs-like show called The Noblets. At school, she is teased because of having an unlucky birthmark on her forehead. Max Jerry Horowitz (voiced by Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a morbidly obese, 44 year old formerly Jewish atheist who, due to mental and social problems, has trouble forming close bonds with people. Their lives both change when Mary fortuitously choose a fellow lonely soul to write to. The quirkiness that separated them in society ultimately links these two pen pals together.
The creative idea to use Claymation helps the audience in seeing the films protagonists not merely as characters but as fellow human beings. This is further established by the strong, and true to life, humanization this film creates of its characters. Upon viewing, it is clear that director Adam Elliot's masterful creation was a painstaking process, further solidified when the viewer take one look at the beautiful landscape showcased in each frame of this film. Every detail is manually drawn up with considerable care and beauty (according to Elliot, every detail!). Elliot calls his films Clayography, a portmanteau for 'clay animated biography', each taking 5 years to materialize.
In short, the story is a bittersweet tale of friendship that will have you in a mix of emotions come the movie's end. My simply writing about the enthralling animation and creative brilliance would not do this wonderful film justice; it is simply, to recite a common cliché, a matter of experiencing it yourself to fully appreciate it. A film that can so deftly juxtapose its humorous and heartbreaking moments are so rare and Mary and Max seems to be able to pull this off so effortlessly. The witty dialogue, the majestic narration of Barry Humphries, the transient theme music - that almost reminds me of the Friday Night Lights intro song, in the sense that it takes you on a roller coaster of emotions that includes happiness, sadness, hope, regret in its short duration.
Philip Seymour Hoffman deserves a lot of praise for how he approached Max's character. His voice was tailored perfectly to that of Max's appearance, from the accent to the tone in which he spoke. He brought a certain poignancy and virtue to the character, giving life to one of the most memorable characters I can remember in recent animation. Even knowing it was him behind the character of Max, I couldn't wrap my head around it. He was truly one of the most diverse actors of our generation and he will forever be missed by many, whether it being his presence on the big screen or merely his voice.
It is a shame that the idea of animation movies might dissuade many people from experiencing this movie. At its core, this film is beautiful in all of its forms – direction, narration, acting and, of course, animation. It manages to be humorous, melancholy, hopeful and a million other things all in one. It excels in staying true to the human condition and does not in any way try to patronize the characters or idealize their situations; it is, in simplest terms, real. My words cannot do this film justice; it was and will continue to serve as one of the finest animations brought to life. 10/10