Mary and Max poster & wallpaper

Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eric Bana

"Mary and Max" tells the simple story of a 20-year pen-pal friendship between two very different people: Mary Dinkle, a chubby, lonely 8-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horow...( read more  read more... )itz, a 44-year-old Jewish man, who is severely obese, suffers from Asperger's syndrome, and lives an isolated life in New York City. It is very much a triumph of emotion, insight, and eccentricity-a complete delight. Animation's ability to capture the intricate complexity of life has never been on display in as absorbing fashion as with the storytelling of this Australian filmmaker, who truly makes you forget what you are watching. The originality of the voices in this ever-spinning kaleidoscope of innocence and idiosyncrasy comes straight from an incredibly rich imagination and complete artistic vision. This desire for acceptance and love amid the pain of existence is masterfully narrated by Barry Humphries and fleshed out by the voices of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette. This film that explores friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity, kleptomania, trust, copulating dogs, sexual and religious differences, agoraphobia, and more, and is rooted in a very personal relationship, is proof of why we go to the movies and a truly exceptional portrait of compassion and love.

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90% liked it

1,280 ratings

Critics

96% liked it

23 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 20 min.

Directed by: Adam Elliot

Release Date: January 15, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (337)

  • her69eyes
    November 16, 2009
    her69eyes
    Over this past decade, it's become clearer than ever that animation isn't just for kids. We've seen challenging rotoscoping phenomenons like "Waking Life" and "Waltz with Bashir", a handful of Pixar masterpieces, and even some lovely surprises from Dreamworks. Although artists li...( read more)ke Miyazaki have been pushing the limits of animation for decades, it's only recently that the artform has been taken seriously by a mainstream American audience.

    "Mary and Max" is the latest example of an animated effort that offers more to adults than most contemporary live action films possibly could. The film, dealing with urban isolation, anxiety, and loneliness, isn't exactly children's fare - it's language can be coarse, it's visuals disturbing. But beneath the unique look of the film, there's a heart that beats wilder than just about anything released this year.

    Mary Daisy Dinkle (Bethany Whitmore as a child, Toni Collette as an adult) is a lonely eight-year-old girl living in Australia. One day, she picks an address out of a New York phone book in order to pose a question to an American. Her mother has told her that babies come out of beer glasses in Australia - but, in America, does that mean babies come out of soda cans?

    Her letter is received by a lonely, obese, Jewish man named Max Jerry Horowitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Max, suffering from Aspergers syndrome, doesn't make much sense of crowded city life, and thus he finds solace in chocolate hot dogs and his jars of toenail clippings. Together, the two pen pals bond over candy and cartoons - forming a loving, much-needed friendship.

    The visuals are marvelous. The easy way to describe the look of the film is to suggest "Wallace & Grombit", but this claymation gets even more out of it's remarkable use of color. The environments - Australia in brown, New York in black and white - are rich and impeccably crafted.

    But beyond the excitement found in the animation, it's filmmaker Adam Elliot's heart-warming and gut-bustingly hilarious script that makes "Mary and Max" a delight. Try not to laugh as a heavily-accented Philip Seymour Hoffman mutters: "Do you have a favourite-sounding word? My top 5 are ointment, bumblebee, Vladivostok, banana and testicle."

    The world of "Mary and Max" is simply alive - this is pure cinematic magic. Although the film had it's faults - it's running time, in particular - I loved every inch of it. Warts and all.
  • mrpopcorn
    October 28, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "You are my best friend. You are my only friend"

    A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York.

    ...( read more)"Century Schoolbook">REVIEW
    A couple of claymation misfits who are worlds apart, form an unlikely dialog, in a pre-Internet age where it takes weeks to get a reply.

    There is a growing trend amongst publishers and in Hollywood, where the writer is strongly urged to rather show the story rather than tell it. This is fine for certain works, especially action films, but I personally believe that the aforementioned edict is a steaming pile of moronic dribble. People are more than intelligent enough to garner rich satisfaction from being provided a story in any form as long as the story itself holds interest. Its worked fine for all the classics in literature, most of which are still being read in droves, but many believe that audiences are stupid and need to shown everything and must capture their attention in the first five seconds. Indeed, most manuscripts are rejected based upon their first page, a ridiculous scenario.

    In this case, there is much in the way of telling via the voice-over of the wondrous Barry Humphries and yet the visuals provide us with an extra layer on information, working with the voice-over rather than being hindered by it. Occasionally it goes on too long, but Adam Elliot is incredibly brave in wanting to tell this story his way. Aside from stylistic similarities to his earlier shorts, he has remained true to himself. He thanks a lot of people in regards to his script; its clear he has made the effort to get it right, proving the basic notion in screen writing, is to get right on the page first folks. The script is a gem, finding the humor in a rather grim tale, without ever being patronizing to the characters or their plight. If anything, he manages to reinforce their humanity. Mary and Max is a brilliant, entertaining work of visual art combined with depth and grace.
  • rebvodka042099
    October 28, 2009
    rebvodka042099
    Absolutely my favorite movie so far this year. Adam Elliot just delivered something so sublime not even the greatest auteurs can beat - I'm sure Tim Burton will watch this and think, "ah, damn it, why didn't I think of it first?!"

    I wish words could explain how truly marvelous ...( read more)it is. A story of an unlikely friendship, of torture, depression, love, loneliness - an appraisal of the different and the most unique. So beautiful and larger-than-life. Wonderful animation, the most gracefully disconsolate ending, one of the truest and most human stories I've ever had the pleasure to seeing. Just...wondrous.
  • g1pp4l
    November 12, 2009
    g1pp4l
    Dark, funny, cruel, ironic, moving, real. Animation cinema is getting better and better.
  • xanderboy
    November 24, 2009
    xanderboy
    Avec son histoire terriblement émouvante et son animation en pâte à modeler, Mary & Max est un vrai petit joyau. Satire tour à tour drôle et amère, tendre et corrosive, ce film délivre avec poésie et intelligence le portrait de deux âmes écorchées. Une merveille
  • kochiid
    November 23, 2009
    kochiid
    I really love this movie...it's about friendship between strangers, so pure and simple, you will shed tears to see how strong the bound built between two persons who never met each other....

    So touchy...(and it's also based on true story...)
  • undeadfeature
    November 23, 2009
    undeadfeature
    Upon seeing this words are pretty much useless in describing how marvelous a tale is crafted here. It's witty, tragic and funny. From the very beginning you feel for these characters because so many of our insecurites and equalities are reflected through them. I see now how irrev...( read more)ocably important it is to identify with the people were watching. Mary and Max will forever live in my thoughts as one of the greatest animations ever made. Even from just the cinephile standpoint, one must stand back in awe of every shot. The way it's set up, narrated, colored, scored. It's absolutely flawless. Max's voice is provided by none other than Philip Seymour Hoffman. I've always liked him but this solidifies him as one of the best actors of our generation and feel priviledged to have seen his rise to fame. His portrayal of Max Horowitz brings this all together. He has such a natural warmth to the dialouge, a realism of true benality that resonates with us all. If you choose to let it wash over you, Mary and Max is a touching human story fit for the most picky cinephile.
  • jschartrand
    November 22, 2009
    jschartrand
    Sad, funny, beautiful and touching. An awesome animated movie for grown-up.
  • jenn1984106
    November 21, 2009
    jenn1984106
    This was a great movie, really cool style and great cast!
  • loverlybird
    November 21, 2009
    loverlybird
    This is one of the best animated features I've seen in a long time! It has heart, humor, brains, style, the works :) Go see!

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