I know it’s been a while since I wrote up an Unsung Hero, and to be honest, I’ve had a challenge finding a diamond in the rough as I catch up with all the award contenders. So I thought I’d reach back to 2009, to a film that I stumbled upon by chance through my Netflix DVD by mail account, which I still have, by the way. At the time, I was on a Phillip Seymour Hoffman binge (RIP), and added every movie I could find with him in it to my queue. Mary and Max arrived, I popped it into my DVD player, and I was floored. I started chatting up friends about it and to my chagrin, nobody had heard of this fabulous film. I even introduced it to Harry, who loved it as well.
As the only feature length film directed by Adam Elliot, this movie features wonderful stop-motion animation and one of the most emotionally sophisticated stories to boot. Our two main characters are not your typical protagonists in animated cinema, but they are two of the most memorable and endearing personalities to grace our senses. Mary, voiced by the fantastic Toni Collette, is a plain-Jane girl who navigates her way through the disappointing circumstances of life, by maintaining a quirky friendship with Max. Max, played by the epically talented Hoffman, is an obese middle-aged man with severe Asperger’s Syndrome. He too has his own challenges, but his stem from his crippling disability. Their friendship is forged by chance when the child Mary flips through a phonebook in Australia and randomly picks a name. She is desperately lonely, being the only child of neglectful parents, and decides to obtain a pen pal. Max, oceans away in Brooklyn is the lucky winner of this delightful lottery, and the two begin a poignant support system through HILARIOUS correspondence. Their challenges are monumental. Max battles with constant anxiety and the setbacks brought on by his disease, while Mary suffers the brutal realities of a girl who is dealt an unlucky hand in life. Despite being such different people, and living so far apart, they become benevolent influences in each other lives.
Esthetically beautiful, the film has elegant composition and uses muted tones to create the contrast of the characters’ inner warmth against the cold indifference of their world. As any stop-motion animation, it has that certain look that captures a timeless quality and I’m sure this film will look spectacular in twenty years. That’s the magic of practical work.
The writing is profound and the script is sharply witty. The absolute best parts of the film are when the characters are reading out their correspondence. It is simply delightful. Your heart flutters at the purity of these two lonely beings, who must reach across an ocean, just to find a friend. It’s brilliant prose. A lot of talent went into this film and it shows. I’m sad that I’m writing it up as an Unsung Hero, because it truly deserves much more laude than this. It seems to have done well for about three years in the festival circuit, winning a few awards for the director, but it has been forgotten since. I could see how this movie might be a bit controversial, as it showcases Asperger’s with humor and the quirks of Max’s disability. It is still very respectful of the gravity of the disease and doesn’t make light of Max’s humanity. In fact, it highlights the fact that folks with Asperger’s have the same emotional needs and potential for profound human connection, as all of us.
This film boldly takes on some heavy thematic elements while never losing the whimsy and beauty of life’s ironies. Mary and Max shows us that we can find a window of true acceptance and that we are not alone, despite the cruelties of serendipity. So much can be gained when we open ourselves to others, even if they are very different from us. And as different as two people may be, there is always a connecting thread that allows us to find compassion. A worthy lesson that we need to revisit in these tumultuous days. Haunting and delightful, with enough depth to drown your sorrows, Mary and Max is a film that should never be forgotten.
Thanks for reading,
The Diva Del Mar
