Depressingly Disappointing

Rating: 3/10 (1 March 2015)

The concept of this film was without a doubt very unique. It explored a pen pal relationship between a lonely little girl from Australia and a mentally unstable man living in New York City. The story is narrated almost like a children's book, but it is quickly revealed that this is no movie for kids as it's subjects include very mature themes including a very serious main topic of mental health and Asperger syndrome. While I usually find stop-motion animation very impressive, I wasn't taken aback by the quality. Maybe it was the dull tones, or maybe it was simply an odd choice of medium for a movie about such subject matter. The beginning half, even though dark and gloomy, seemed whimsical and funny in a strange sort of way. As the story went along it became more lifeless and uninteresting, and as Mary grew up she became even more of a psycho than our deranged friend Max. The film seemed to reach too far for an emotion filled tale of gloom which made it lose a lot of its impact. Near the middle I was enjoying myself, but by the end it seemed like a drag and overrated disappointment.