7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Charlie Kaufman's first stop-motion film about a man named Michael Stone, an author of books on the subject of customer service, who struggles with his inability to connect to people. One night, while on a routine business trip, he meets a woman who changes his world view.
Starring: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom NoonanDrama | 100% |
Surreal | 61% |
Psychological thriller | 56% |
Animation | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Anomalisa is about a brief moment of clarity and light in an otherwise dark and unimaginative world, at least within one man's perception of it. The film, from Directors Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman, the latter of whom helmed Synecdoche, New York and wrote Being John Malkovich, tells a rather dark tale of exclusion from the world, loneliness, and an inability to find the spark in life. The film pits two people who are in some ways similar to one another and in others opposite from one another. One is a man who makes his living by helping others but who cannot help himself, and the other a woman who also makes a living helping others but who cannot or will not help herself. The man is lost in the world, the woman is lost within herself. He bears emotional scars. She bears a physical scar. Both wounds leave the people closed off an unable to find the truth within themselves or the best of the world around them. It's a fascinating case study with enough psychological depth to fill a textbook and enough re-watchability to sort it out on multiple viewings. But Kaufman and Johnson do a remarkable job of handling the story's complexities with a perfect blend of easily identifiable overtones, subtle depth, and heavy psychology underneath to make the movie at once both approachable and necessarily complex. This is storytelling and a study of the human condition at their finest.
Anomalisa's 1080p transfer presents the puppets and supportive details nicely enough. Close-ups manage to reveal plenty of fine, intricate detailing, on the puppets in particular -- textural skin materials, miniature clothing fabrics -- but also one some of the broader surfaces where minor imperfections in materials and workmanship are plainly visible. Basic clarity and the 1080p resolution allow for all of the hotel room accents, the hallway carpeting, the ornate lobby, and a more barren bottom floor location to impress in the delivery of more generalized environmental details. Colors are fine; the image is rather warm but clothing finds a good, natural balance, as do various objects around different set pieces seen in the film. Black levels are fine. Light banding creeps up a few times but other unwanted intrusions are never a factor.
Anomalisa features a fairly pedestrian, but technically sound, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The film's sound design never really demands much from the sound system. Basic ambient effects on a plane or in a hotel bar are pleasing enough, with a good bit of well pronounced environmental details that help draw the listener into a few of the movie's environments. The subwoofer kicks in on a few occasions with a nicely complimentary burst of low end power to better help define a scene. Music is clear and detailed with positive stage saturation. Dialogue is the primary comment, and the spoken word holds true in the center, yielding fine natural clarity and prioritization.
Anomalisa contains three featurettes, including a fascinating and detailed making-of. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes
digital copy are included with purchase.
Anomalisa is a powerful, fascinating, and thought-provoking film that's visually unique and thematically rich. It's layered and detailed both visually and dramatically and the intensive labor of love behind its creation is evident in every shot. The voice acting is terrific and only accentuates the movie's broader story and intimate themes alike. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Anomalisa features solid video and audio. Supplements are few in number but very informative and a must-watch compliment to the movie. Highly recommended.
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