 Director: Adam Elliot Studio: Madman Entertainment Genre(s): Drama Rated: R (For sexual content, nudity and some violent content) |
Adam Elliot is one of the great poets working in the film industry today. Overlooked by the public because he works primarily in animation, his films observe the human soul and the ironies of life better than any other writer currently working in the business today. In “Memoir of a Snail” he directs what is potentially his most personal film to date (and his first in 15 years). Yes, while I’m sure the difficulties of the stop motion format contributed to the long wait between movies, he likely also wanted to ensure that this story was nothing short of a masterpiece. If this is the end result more filmmakers should take their time between projects.
As one of the characters says, “life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.” By the time this contemplative sentence is spoken we have already watched not so much a story but a mediation on the cruelties of life, the prisons we create for ourselves, and how happiness, while possible, always seems to be just out of reach. It seems like the main characters can’t catch a break in life, but then, who does? Regardless of political, religious, or even nihilistic beliefs we all have, we can all agree that life is filled with a series of unpredictable events that we are helpless to control and usually unprepared for.
The only thing we can do is react accordingly, and even then, we aren’t usually sure of how best to do so. This is why it is so easy to relate to Grace Pudel, a socially awkward girl whose life is thrown into chaos the moment she is born with a defect in her lip. Her twin brother is the only friend she has in childhood and they both find themselves thrust into an unforgiving world when both their parents die. They don’t even have the luxury of facing life together, as they are adopted by different foster parents on the opposite sides of Australia. While Grace gets the better of the two foster parents, she is also a prisoner of her insecurities and fears.
The only friend she has is an older woman named Pinky, whose zest for life and love of living freely acts as a lifeline to her anxieties. Thankfully, we CAN choose some of the people in our lives, which is one of the greatest defenses we have in this crazy world! While “Memoir of a Snail” is autobiographical in nature, I would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t walk away relating to at least some aspects of the film. While we may be born with different circumstances in our lives, this is a movie that understands we all have the same hopes and desires for love and companionship, as well as the need to love ourselves just as we are.
It is a movie that touches on the most basic of human
emotions, and while I appreciate what the fine folks at Pixar were able to
accomplish with “Inside Out 2” earlier this year, I feel that this is the main
course to that film’s appetizer when it comes to the subject of human emotions.
It should be noted that even if the film is animated, this is not a movie for children.
While kids will eventually have to face these issues, their job is to have as
much fun as they possibly can. “Memoir of a Snail” is for the adult who may be
feeling a little lost, maybe even a little trapped in their own obsessions, but
who can still make the most of this crazy, wonderful thing called life. Adam
Elliot – the wonderful poet he is – has made one of the best films of the year.
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