ANOMALISA ~ Rated R

ANOMALISA – Rated R

Writer Charlie Kaufman (BEING JOHN MALCOVICH, ADAPTATION, CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND) and Director Duke Johnson have created a Golden Globe and Oscar nominated animated feature ~ bringing Charlie’s tale of negativity and mundane existence, yet, the enlightenment in life that can be brought on by a total stranger – THIS IS ANOMALISA!!!

Trudging through life as a depressed and negative old codger, who has apparently spent most of his life avoiding intimacy ~ and his family – we meet crabby old Michael Stone (David Thewlis), who has ventured to see his grandson on his birthday, only because it coincides with a business trip that he needed to go on anyway…

When Michael has a chance encounter with the blissfully fun, yet very low self esteem yielding Lisa Hesselman (Jennifer Jason Leigh), it seems that the happiness they have both been searching for their whole lives, may have just dropped in their laps…

As a budding romance ensues between these two rather quickly~ will Michael be able to finally find true happiness in the arms of this beautifully REAL younger woman, or will his negative and demanding ways creep into this relationship too, eroding his chance to ever find true happiness…

I give ANOMALISA a rating of: DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY!! With all the RAVE REVIEWS I was hearing before this film was finally released, I was anticipating a blissful story that would not only enlighten my senses, but would entertain me beyond my wildest dreams.

Then, when this film received a nomination for a Golden Globe, and an OSCAR NOD TOO for BEST ANIMATED FEATURE..you know that it has to be fabulous, right?? NOT HARDLY!!! This film came across as nothing but a TOTAL DOWNER TO ME! From the intensely depressing and dark storyline, to the infinitely irritating monotone voices depicting the characters ~ gosh, not even the sexually explicit animation in a portion of this film could change my mind ~ suffice to say ANOMALISA was definitely NOT THE ANOMALY I WAS HOPING FOR…no matter how hard I tried to see what all the hullabaloo was about…which brings me to ask the question…AM I MISSING SOMETHING???

Kathy Kaiser