Have you ever felt that everyone around you looked and sounded the same? Have you ever met someone that was completely different than others around you? What did you do in those situations?
Anomalisa is about an author named Michael Stone. Stone is on a business trip to Cincinnati to promote his new self-help book at a convention. Everyone Stone encounters on this trip looks & sounds the same. They all have the same male face and voice. While in his hotel room, Stone suddenly hears a female voice. This causes him to immediately seek out whose voice that was. He goes door to door and finally finds Lisa Hesselman, a woman who is actually a huge fan of Stone's book. While speaking with Lisa, Stone starts to become more and more drawn to her. Will Lisa be able to stay unique in Stone's eyes or will she become like everyone else he encounters?
I was blown away by Anomalisa. Going into it I only knew that it was critically acclaimed and that it was made using stop-motion animation. What I really enjoyed about Anomalisa was how real it felt. The emotional connection between Stone and Lisa was irresistible. You could feel Stone falling for her. You could feel Lisa's hesitation at first and then as she started falling for Stone, you got to feel that emotional journey with her. This was really impressive for a stop-motion movie. I haven't felt that kind of connection between two characters in a movie in a long time. I had a huge smile on my face the entire time they were on screen together.
The only negative I really have for Anomalisa is that it felt short. It has been ages since I've seen a movie where when the credits started to role I was surprised. I wanted to spend more time with Lisa and Stone. Also I would have enjoyed experiencing more of Stone's struggle to connect with everyone else around him besides Lisa.
Anomalisa was an incredible movie. I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it. I have a feeling, though, that it is a movie that is not for everyone. If you feel like experiencing something you don't see often in movies, Anomalisa is definitely worth checking out.
4 1/2 Stars
