Anomalisa

First thing to say is what beautiful animation! Every detail has been acutely observed – the way fingers curls around a cigarette, a hand opening a medication bottle – even the slight rise and fall of the chest as a character breathes gently. So, so exquisite.

I’ve seen comments that this film’s protagonist made this less enjoyable that it could have been. And while he is no saint, I was content to spend time with him because his unpleasantness and unhappiness stems from a very fragile sense of self, despite his outward success. Which we see peeping through from time to time.

So I liked this, and was happy watching it, except for the final 15 minutes. It’s not often I say a film could do to be longer, but it kind of hurtled towards a conclusion and didn’t seem to balance with the rest of the story. I felt there was a bit more to learn about Michael before we said our goodbyes.