A wonderful Australian independent plasticine movie that tells the story of a life-long mail relationship between Max Jerry Horowitz, an old autistic atheist Jew from New York, and Mary Daisy Dinkle, a weird 8y.o. girl from Melbourne. Mary and Max is, above all, a story about social maladjustment and the ups and downs of life, but a happy story about real friendship and personal identity.
Mary and Max are unglamorous suburban people, with mental and social problems who are wonderful because are imperfect and human. They are not presented as weirdos or as marginal people, but in an accepting humorous way. The intrinsic point of departure of the film is that life itself is dysfunctional; therefore, the dysfunctions of the characters are just normal, part of who they are and a result of what life brings to their lives. It is this approach, and the emotion that the characters convey, what makes the viewer connect to Mary & Max instantaneously, so the viewer feels their failures, successes and worries as if they were those of real people. This is, however, both a drama and a comedy, and there are many humorous winks to the viewer; the animal characters (both pets and urban animals) are hilarious.
The aesthetics and atmosphere of the film are wonderful, with at terrific use of Black and White with red plashes and ochre details, which perfectly encapsulate the mood and personality of the different characters and the different stages of their life and relationships. They are, in a way, the outer projection of Mary and Max's personality, or even a reflection of how they see reality, not the way reality is seen by others. After all reality is about or perception of it. The music is terrific, too.
Most actors are great in the dubbing of the characters, especially Toni Collette as Mary, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Max, and Renée Geyer as Vera.
This is not a movie for children. It touches subjects that are complex and could be disturbing or difficult to explain to a child: alcoholism, social failure, mental disorder, bullying, death, homosexuality, suicide, etc. This is, however, what will attract adults, and what makes the movie so special.
Three things would have improved the film enormously. Firstly, a little bit of more of lightness (less clumsiness) in the movement of the puppets, and also more definition in the facial expressions of the characters would have improved the look and feeling of the film immensely. Secondly, most of the characters' speech is limited, so we see them moving but not talking that much. Finally, and directly related, the third-person narration is overwhelming - too much of it and in the wrong tone. I consider a mistake the selection of Barry Humphries as off narrator, as his dubbing is emotionally misleading; he narrates the story as if this was a fable before bed told to a kid, but this is not a children movie by any means. It would have been great converting part of the narration into dialogues of the characters, which would have given more fluidity and a better pace to the story and the movie in general.
This is a great animation film, with a terrific story, which moved me immensely. The story, is what will captivate you.
Mary and Max was a hit at "Sundance", and has won an accolade of awards since then.
