Mary and Max

Rating: 7/10 (10 June 2011)

There was a small mention of this cartoon film on Film 2009 with Jonathan Ross, obviously it didn't have wide release, but hearing enough about it I was very interested to try it. Basically starting in the 1970's, eight year old Mary (Bethany Whitmore) is the little girl living in Melbourne, Australia with a terrible brown birthmark on her forehead, no friends, a mean alcoholic mother who has kleptomania (the frequent urge to steal) and a love for a children's television show which she makes models of the characters. One day, desperate to find a friend she decides to flick through the phone book and find a random name and write them a letter accompanied with a chocolate bar, and she chooses a guy from New York City. The reader who receives her letter is obese Max Jerry Horovitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who has a tragic past, a history of mental illness and lives with the disability Aspergers Syndrome, and feeling lonely himself he is very happy to write back to Mary. So begins a pen pal friendship where they send each other letters about their thoughts, feelings and something (object, food) that represents them-self or where they are living. Years later an older Mary (Toni Collette) still tries to keep in touch with Max, who has become bigger and more depressed over time, she has got married to Damien (Eric Bana) and graduated university, he has won the New York lottery, and that's about it. Max is infuriated when Mary tells him that she is writing a psychological book detailing Aspergers Syndrome, and in anger he removes the M letter from his typewriter, and in response she develops chronic depression. She becomes an alcoholic and attempts suicide by hanging, and her husband Damien leaves her for his own pen pal in New Zealand, but she didn't realise she was pregnant, she is saved by the man who feared going outside, agoraphobic neighbour Len Hislop. Mary receives a forgiveness letter from Max, and with her newborn baby she decides they should meet in person, but when she arrives he is dead, but she cries with happiness seeing all the letters saved on the wall. With wonderful narration from Dame Edna Everage actor Barry Humphries, the voices of Collette, Hoffman and Whitmore really bring the characters to life, the use of colour, black and white for New York and sepia for Australia is really good, and of course the stop motion clay animation is lovable, I can relate to Max living with Apsergers Syndrome myself, and Mary is lovable, it may be dark for children, but a most watchable animated comedy drama. Very good!