I’m not sure what I expected going into MARY AND MAX. The trailer had a look of a Henry Sellick / Tim Burton kind of film and seemed to possess a quirky sensibility which appealed to me. Thankfully… I was right… sort of. MARY AND MAX is the kind of film, while visually similar, that Sellick and Burton WISHES they could make. The film is quirky, dark, emotionally engaging, cerebral and deeply troubling (all good things in my book). Top notch voice acting (by Toni Collete, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Eric Bana amongst others) raises this already stellar film above the rest. Further, the film never panders are accepts that anyone watching it will understand and go with some of the admittedly adult concepts (alcoholism, depression, death, mental illness, hypocrisy, delusion, etc). That said, it may be slightly rough waters for the very young (even though it looks like a cartoon, this is not PEANUTS by any stretch). Well written and told, MARY AND MAX is a terrific film that is so much more than it looks on the surface. HIGHLY recommended, but bring a tissue or two. Great stuff!
Rating: 4 out of 5
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