A theatre director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he creates a life-size replica of New York City inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
Director:
Charlie Kaufman
Stars:
Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Samantha Morton,
Michelle Williams
A psychologically troubled novelty supplier is nudged towards a romance with an English woman, all the while being extorted by a phone-sex line run by a crooked mattress salesman, and purchasing stunning amounts of pudding.
Director:
Paul Thomas Anderson
Stars:
Adam Sandler,
Emily Watson,
Philip Seymour Hoffman
After his children's science show is canceled, Goodman Hesselman tries to start over with a new show in a little TV market - also a portal to the supernatural world.
Director:
Charlie Kaufman
Stars:
Michael Cera,
Catherine Keener,
Sally Hawkins
Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoils, he seems to keep sinking.
Directors:
Ethan Coen,
Joel Coen
Stars:
Michael Stuhlbarg,
Richard Kind,
Sari Lennick
In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.
Director:
Yorgos Lanthimos
Stars:
Colin Farrell,
Rachel Weisz,
Jessica Barden
Michael Stone, an author that specializes in customer service, is a man who is unable to interact deeply with other people. His low sensitivity to excitement, and his lack of interest made him a man with a repetitive life on his own perspective. But, when he went on a business trip, he met a stranger - an extraordinary stranger, which slowly became a cure for his negative view on life that possibly will change his mundane life.Written by
Gusde
The classic movie the protagonist puts on TV, reenacted with puppets, was originally supposed to be Casablanca (1942), but the production could not afford to license it so it was changed to My Man Godfrey (1936), which was in the public domain. See more »
Goofs
The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport has signs indicating that the possession of concealed weapons are not allowed posted at every entrance, and has had therm since the Concealed Carry law was enacted in that State in the mid-90's. There are no signs shown here, even though it is said to be 2005. See more »
Quotes
Michael Stone:
Who are you Donna? Who are you, really?
Everyone else:
[Donna]
Oh for fuck's sake!
[collects herself, turning to Henry]
Everyone else:
Sorry honey. Mommy said a bad word.
[looks back at Michael]
Everyone else:
Oh for fuck's sake Michael. I don't know who I am. I mean, who are you? Who is anyone? Who could answer that question?
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Every time I see a Charlie Kaufman film I'm reminded how fearless he is at examining the human condition and why I need to put a lot of time in between watching his movies.
In "Anomalisa," his Academy-Award nominated animated film, David Thewlis and especially Jennifer Jason Leigh do tremendous voice work as an emotionally ill minor celebrity and the shy, awkward woman with whom he enjoys a one-night stand while at a conference at which he is the speaker. The film is an examination of middle-aged male discontent and loneliness, a subject a younger version of me was always impatient with and which the 41-year-old version of me now finds hits uncomfortably close to home. Kaufman creates a sad character who has many unpleasant tendencies but isn't necessarily a completely unpleasant man, and allows us to see how this one night in the man's life and his approach to human relationships is a stand-in for his entire adult life and the driving force behind his depression.
As in his masterpiece, "Synecdoche, New York," Kaufman refuses to give in to the convention of happy, or at least hopeful, endings, and suggests that it is possible to live an entire life being utterly miserable if you don't possess the resources to do otherwise, a terrifying idea to anyone who has struggled with depression, anxiety, or even just prolonged bouts of general malaise. In so many Hollywood movies about unhappy people, the unhappy people just need the emotional connection to that one special person that shakes them out of their funk and changes everything around for them. One of the things I liked best about "Anomalisa" is its suggestion that, while those special people really do exist, happiness in any one person is something that has to come from inside and isn't going to be imposed on one by another. It isn't comfortable to think about the possibility of life being a long series of missed opportunities, but it feels honest.
Grade: A-
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Every time I see a Charlie Kaufman film I'm reminded how fearless he is at examining the human condition and why I need to put a lot of time in between watching his movies.
In "Anomalisa," his Academy-Award nominated animated film, David Thewlis and especially Jennifer Jason Leigh do tremendous voice work as an emotionally ill minor celebrity and the shy, awkward woman with whom he enjoys a one-night stand while at a conference at which he is the speaker. The film is an examination of middle-aged male discontent and loneliness, a subject a younger version of me was always impatient with and which the 41-year-old version of me now finds hits uncomfortably close to home. Kaufman creates a sad character who has many unpleasant tendencies but isn't necessarily a completely unpleasant man, and allows us to see how this one night in the man's life and his approach to human relationships is a stand-in for his entire adult life and the driving force behind his depression.
As in his masterpiece, "Synecdoche, New York," Kaufman refuses to give in to the convention of happy, or at least hopeful, endings, and suggests that it is possible to live an entire life being utterly miserable if you don't possess the resources to do otherwise, a terrifying idea to anyone who has struggled with depression, anxiety, or even just prolonged bouts of general malaise. In so many Hollywood movies about unhappy people, the unhappy people just need the emotional connection to that one special person that shakes them out of their funk and changes everything around for them. One of the things I liked best about "Anomalisa" is its suggestion that, while those special people really do exist, happiness in any one person is something that has to come from inside and isn't going to be imposed on one by another. It isn't comfortable to think about the possibility of life being a long series of missed opportunities, but it feels honest.
Grade: A-