Review: Anomalisa

First off, if you haven't heard of or been to the Cinema Center movie theater in Fort Wayne, you have to go at some point this semester. They're great about getting the lesser known foreign and domestic films that don't make it to wide release, and do lots of appreciation events for visitors. It's at this theater that I experienced Charlie Kaufman's latest film, Anomalisa. This film, shot in a style of clay-mation, follows a main character by the name of Michael Stone, a motivational speaker who's life has become monotonous and boring to him, leaving him attempting to find something out of the ordinary. He gets his wish when he meets a shy, timid woman named Lisa, the only person to sound unique to him (all the other characters are voiced by one person except her). They share a night, an anomaly of uniqueness that changes Michael, or so he thinks. 

Charlie Kaufman's work has always been left in a sort of ambiguous haze, leaving the viewer to decide for themselves what they think the piece means. It's pretty straightforward by the end of this film, but there's plenty to decipher if you dig deep enough into it. From a more objective standpoint, the camerawork, the character models, and the editing were very well done; I was content with the pacing and post work done throughout the story. Kaufman and his co-director Duke Johnson did a great job pacing the film. I don't know if I can say I recommend it, since it's a bit of a strange story, but it's extremely well crafted and an interesting study of character if that's something you're interested in.