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Mary and Max

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Submitted By simplylittle
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Mary and Max It is 1976, an 8-year-old Mary Daisy Dinkle (Bethany Whitmore) is a lonely little girl living in Mount Waverley, Melbourne, Australia. Her relatively poor family cannot afford to buy her toys or nice clothing, and she is teased by children at her school due to an unfortunate birthmark on her forehead. Her father is distant and her alcoholic, kleptomaniac mother provides no support. The closest thing she has to a friend is the man for whom Mary collects mail, Len Hislop, a World War II veteran who lost his legs as a prisoner of war and has developed agoraphobia.
One day, she decides to write a letter to someone living in New York City: by pure chance she chooses Max Jerry Horowitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman) from a telephone directory. Max turns out to be a morbidly obese 44-year-old whose various mental problems (including anxiety attacks and overeating) have left him unable to form close bonds with other people. Max decides to write back to Mary, and the two become friends. Over time, Mary's increasingly sensitive questions about the adult world give Max progressively worse anxiety attacks, and he is ultimately institutionalized. During his time there, Max is diagnosed with depression and Asperger syndrome. Now aware of why he has difficulty relating to other people, Max finds a new lease on life and resumes his correspondence with Mary.
The two remain friends for the next two decades, keeping one another updated on various events in their lives. Mary (Toni Colette), inspired by her friendship with Max, becomes a psychologist and marries her childhood crush, an effeminate young Greek Australian man named Damien Popodopoulos (Eric Bana) who enjoys sewing but fears Mary's sexual advances. Max wins the New York lottery, using his winnings to buy a (literal) life-time supply of chocolate and then giving the rest away to his elderly neighbor, who wastes most of it before dying and leaving the remainder to a cat shelter only to have the owner of the shelter take it all for himself.
After earning her degree, Mary writes a psychological book detailing her communication with Max, in an attempt to dissect Asperger's syndrome. Max is infuriated, having told Mary that he has come to terms with his illness and sees it as an integral part of his personality, not something that needs to be diagnosed and cured. Max ends his communication with Mary, by breaking the "M" typebar from his typewriter and sending it to her. When Mary receives it, she is heartbroken and has the entire run of the book pulped, effectively ending her budding career. In her despair, Mary takes up her mother's affection for sherry. Chronically depressed and drunk all of the time, one day Mary receives a note from Damien informing her that he has left her: he has fallen in love with his own pen pal, Desmond, a sheep farmer in New Zealand. In the meantime, Max has decided to forgive Mary, and has sent her a gift as a token of his continuing friendship. Mary is so unmanned by her depression and drunkenness, though, that she is unaware of the package that has been sitting on her doorstep for several days. Ultimately, Mary discovers some Valium that had belonged to her mother, and, not knowing that she is pregnant, decides to take her own life.
Just as Mary is about to kill herself, her neighbor Len knocks on her door, having conquered his agoraphobia to alert her of the package on her porch. Opening it, Mary finds Max's reconciliation gift, along with an accompanying letter detailing the reasons why he forgives her, how much their friendship means to him, and his hope that one day their lives will intersect and they will meet in person. It is enough to jar Mary from her depression, and she decides to start her life over again.
One year later, Mary travels to America with her infant son to finally visit Max. Entering his apartment, Mary discovers the now elderly Max, sitting on his couch, gazing upward, having passed away peacefully earlier that morning. Seeing this, Mary returns the "M" typebar to Max's typewriter and sits down next to him with her son. Looking around the apartment, Mary discovers that Max has kept many of the mementos she sent and has organized the entire ceiling into a detailed scrapbook of his friendship with Mary, composed of all of her letters from over the years, which is what he was looking at when he died. Seeing how much Max valued their friendship and how happy it made him, Mary is moved to tears of joy as the film closes.
The film is sublime. It’s funny and insightful as it creates very different worlds for its two characters, and yet it doesn’t shy away from the harsher aspects of the lives of Mary and Max.

BARRY HUMPHRIES narrates and he does it beautifully. The animation perfectly suits the story, it was five years in the making and it’s worth every minute.
Comment: I found this film very tough going- it is undoubtedly a well made film and has some clever and quirky moments. However I lost interest around halfway through the film and could not engage with the film and its clunky style. A lighter touch would have made a huge difference to the viewing experience. Perhaps as an artistic statement it deserves more than three stars but as a movie going experience it was only a little bit better than average.
The clay only gave the story more credibility, others might differ in their opinion about that, but I think if it were played by real actors it would be less believable, (saying the tale itself was based on a true story).

Love this movie. I cried a much needed cry that I wasn't able to do for about a year.
28/10/2009 1:22 AMName: Peter
Rating:
Comment: Superb claymation, moving final scene, nice references to Aussie & New York/Jewish culture. And an extra star for Ethel the Rooster.
19/10/2009 10:56 PMName: Leigh
Rating:
Comment: I've been longing to see Mary And Max for quite some time after missing it's cinema run. And i've got to say i'm rather disappointed in it.
It is still a good film.. the claymation is unique and very well done, the story is ideal and the key characters are certainly likeable.
I found the film too repititious and like David mentioned it was too reliant on the narrative arc. It was also lacking that infectiousness and sharpness of Harvie Krumpet.
If Adam Elliot filmed more scene's without the use of vocals this could have well turned into a masterpiece.
14/10/2009 8:20 AMName: Mohammad reza
Rating:
Comment: I think it was so impressing.Actually i hold the belief that the movie is not suitable for children, since it conveys a lot of pessimism through life.Generally it was one of the best movies I had encountered recently.It is about love, loneliness, and the life.I recommend everyone to watch it.
14/10/2009 6:29 AMName: Dee
Rating:
Comment: Loved it. Laughed but mainly cried. a word of warning, however. Don't take your child with Asbergers. They're not all like that!
16/07/2009 11:38 AMName: Jeremy
Rating:
Comment: A very beautiful looking film but I had a lot of trouble engaging with it. The characters do very little acting and there's hardly any spoken dialogue - the story is told in narration and voiceover. As a result I found it really hard to become involved with the characters and story. Whether it's a live action or animated film you need to identify or at least feel empathy towards the characters, and the narration and voiceover created a wall around them for me.
5/07/2009 7:03 PMName: Cath
Rating:
Comment: Mary & Max has hit no1 of my all time favourites. Found myself thinking about it for days afterwards. The film holds up a social mirror - our failure to appreciate difference & Elliot conveys this in part by holding such non-judging affection for all of his characters. I was bawling through most of it and giggling at the same time. Soundtrack is brilliant, made me think of "Malcolm" which uses the same penguin cafe orchestra piece. Stunning performances, especially Bethany Whitmore (the 8yr old Mary), Hoffman & Barry Humphries.
30/06/2009 8:00 PMName: Megan Constable
Rating:
Comment: I thought the movie was brilliant. However I blinked and missed a few major things. The crits did it no credit. I have trouble with takinhg in that much at once, so I would love to see it again. It was a great conversation piece for quite some time after seeing it.
30/06/2009 1:34 PMName: Ned Riley
Rating:
Comment: The reason I enjoyed this film is because it has two things I enjoy about certain films - mental disabilites, and animation.

I think you have to be older to fully appreciate this movie. I can see kids getting bored during some points, and being unable to fully comprehend some ideas. I remember as a kid, I thought Chicken Run was boring.

This film deserves the Oscar for Best Animated Film for certain.
21/06/2009 5:12 PMName: William
Rating:
Comment: In my view, this film provides great insight into the minds of partially disabled people and to a community's reaction, and often little understanding of them.

It's excellent how the film places this sad and distressingly realistic theme, underneath the charm of Elliot's clay skills, and ridiculous yet funny quirk.
10/06/2009 6:48 PMName: Paul Duffield
Rating:
Comment: Absolutely brilliant and so much better than the typical Pixar/Disney computer generated stuff.

This animation is down to earth and gritty and shows just how tough some people have it in life.

The best animation I have seen in my fourty odd years. I laughed, I cried and I have not stopped thinking about this movie months after seeing it.

Thank you Adam for creating such a wonderful movie.
26/05/2009 5:34 PMName: Paul
Rating:
Comment: A greatly moving film. What may seem as a depressing tale about a man with Aspergers Syndrome and a young girl. They become pen pals for the most unlikely reasons but as they grow older their friendship continues through their saddest moments. The one most important thing, having a true friend.
26/05/2009 12:02 PMName: infense
Rating:
Comment: Extraordinary effort. Imaginative,engaging and charming this film is well worth watching. Elliott manages to make his characters so real that you can laugh both at and with them and share their highs and lows. If only more Australian films were this clever and this charming.
12/05/2009 11:15 AMName: Naomi
Rating:
Comment: I adored this movie. Everything was excactly as I like it; funny, lively, touching, sad and yet a little twisted, bittersweet, sardonic and very frank. I thought the material was extremely well handled and I enjoyed the fact that it was very much a 'cartoon' for older audiences and that its subject matter was certainly not aimed at children. The seriousness is merged well with a very crisp, sarcastic humour which I could certainly appreciate. The only qualm I had was that it was a little bit long. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to make!
9/05/2009 7:39 PMName: Funky Clarence
Rating:
Comment: This film is so insightful with dry humour and absurdity, yet I found it deeply depressing. Elliot's commentary on society is so spot on that it probably hit too close to home. Even when you laugh, your heart and mind are wrenching, waiting for the next sorrowful scene. But it is a brilliant piece of work, the music is perfect, and the casting is really well done. I also liked the narration.
9/05/2009 5:50 PMName: Grace
Rating:
Comment: This was a very beautiful movie, but I was quite sad towards the end. I am only 11, and I don't recommend it to people my age, but older people should watch it as my dad loved it.
7/05/2009 10:36 PMName: infense
Rating:
Comment: If only all Australianfilms were this passionate, creative, enjoyable and memorable! Deserves an animation nomination at Oscars surely.
4/05/2009 12:06 PMName: sam564
Rating:
Comment: I was deeply saddened by this film. I thought that the director could have painted a much more enlightened character portrayal at times. I took my two sons and was shocked that this film had a PG rating, suicidal images are not for the faint hearted particularly children. I wouldn't recommend taking children unless they are older than 12. I found myself crying and crying, was I crying for the characters in the film or for the depressing representation of a person with Aspergers ? My son has Aspergers and his world is bright !
4/05/2009 9:44 AMName: Peter v
Rating:
Comment: Brilliant claymation.
Way too long. Way too cute.
Way too much narration - don't tell them, show them.
3/05/2009 8:02 PMName: havachatkiwi
Rating:
Comment: This film must have taken ages for the producers, who are extremely clever, to make. The film blended with fun and sadness.
27/04/2009 7:39 PMName: kat
Rating:
Comment: Whoa!
Am I in tears over some plasticine? How does the director make me feel for these creations as if they are real people?
First half made me laugh alot.
Second half made me cry alot.
Loved the narration, BRILLIANT job by Barry H...David you are wrong.
PG Ratings....mmmm, took my "almost 10" yr old thinking the film would be a Wallace and Grommit style. Maybe a PG, but with a "contains suicide and adult themes" warning.
Mary's Mum looked a bit like Dame Edna, with Barry H doing the narration, did he have some input into the character?

Absolutely loved it, a masterpiece.
27/04/2009 4:40 PMName: SteveC
Rating:
Comment: Loved it!
Adam Elliot is a brilliant story teller and animator.
I loved the continuous flow of subtle humour mixed with the dark ambience of the story.
I think this is a film that will only get better with additional viewings.
Congratulations, Adam - great work.
I can't wait to see this film on Blu Ray!
26/04/2009 8:25 PMName: maria
Rating:
Comment: THe flm really moved us - we all cried in the final scenes, something I never thought possible in a claymation film. It is a tribute to Elliot's ability to make his clay figures come to life. We were touched by the love and dedication that went into the making of this film. It is funny and daring, dark and depressing, explores themes most American animation films would only touch in a flippant or cynical way. Don't agree with the negative comments below. Elliot is an Australian treasure.
25/04/2009 10:29 AMName: Nick R O'Lastic
Rating:
Comment: I can't understand people who didn't appreciate the genius of this film. Not just the superb claymation, but the sensitive and engaging story. The matching of the simplistic world view of Mary with the adult child in Max was poignant and inspired. Yes it's dark and complex, confronting and different, but if you want fluff, go watch Shrek. I simply loved it. For those who haven't seen it yet - ask yourself when you last heard an audience clap at the end of a movie. For Adam Elliot - start writing your next Oscar speech!
22/04/2009 9:41 PMName: Tony Coote
Rating:
Comment: Come on guys, have your brains been utterly plastercinized, or are you just being kind to the second film of an Aussie Oscar boy? How can you not see that Mary and Max is a real stinker, over full of pre-undergraduate poo and fart jokes that are desperately looking for some sort of thread but totally failing to find it. Not only that, it's really ugly on the eye. The only redeeming feature is Phillip Seymour Hoffman's channeling of Studs Terkel as Max.
22/04/2009 3:08 PMName: mandy
Rating:
Comment: This movie was beautifully voiced by all the actors, particularly the deep engaging voice of Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
I have a six year old and I dont think I would take him to see it, despite the PG rating. I'm not sure I could confidently tackle the resulting questions relating to suicide and anxiety attacks! But as an adult, I loved this film. I could see it again and again!
20/04/2009 6:45 PMName: Rob M
Rating:
Comment: Amazing film, an absolute masterpiece. I hope it wins big awards. I think it is a little long, but very slight editing would make it perfect.
18/04/2009 11:16 AMName: greenpossum
Rating:
Comment: I loved the claymation, I really appreciated the effort that went into it. The story is mildly interesting, but I think either the story was not deep enough for the length of the film, or the film should have been a short animated. Because in the end what captured my attention were the little visual gags sprinkled all over the story, not so much the characters. Perhaps it's the nature of the claymation medium, even Nick Parks had to struggle to sustain feature length Wallace and Grommit films. PS: I loved Renee Geyer's "mother".
17/04/2009 9:13 PMName: Alex Taylor
Rating:
Comment: Mary and Max reveal a little of the pain we all experience. i cried, laughed, and felt an aching tenderness for us poor humans.
17/04/2009 2:55 PMName: Chris
Rating:
Comment: Best Movie I have ever seen. Extremely engaging, funny, yet sad, quirky, beautiful. This movie is going to be a hit!
17/04/2009 12:57 PMName: Isla
Rating:
Comment: Any other opinions on whether this is okay for kids? I was thinking about taking a 6yo and 8yo.
17/04/2009 1:11 AMName: natalia
Rating:
Comment: It was not the choice we had set out to see tonight and i had no idea what to expect! I found the film turgid long and very sad. One of the highlights was when a man sitting in the row behind us seat collapsed. He was uninjured so we were able to laugh with impunity. The animation is dark, with brief moments of insightful & witty dialogue. The Jew aspie new yorker is fairly unconviencing. tragic....I won't be recommending this film..
15/04/2009 11:34 PMName: Sarah
Rating:
Comment: A very clever and deep movie. I cannot recommend this movie enough. Absoutely wonderful!!
15/04/2009 2:01 PMName: Polly
Rating:
Comment: Just loved it - a real 'feel good' movie - I came away feeling just so happy - a welcome change from some of the more dramatic films I've seen lately.

Definitely 5 stars in my opinion.
15/04/2009 12:18 PMName: I.R.
Rating:
Comment: Nice, well meaning try.

A two-hander character piece.

But the trouble is that in his script, Elliot doesn't truly capture the neurosis of a New York Jew with Asperger's.

So characterisation of Max...in the film doesn't ring true... for us Jews who are particularly familiar with Jewish Aspies.

Nor will it ring true...for those in the USA. Who are far more familiar with Jewish neurosis than Aussies are.

Next time Adam....think neurotic if you're writing New York Jewish characters.

Neurosis.

We Jews name it...and claim it.

Good luck.
14/04/2009 7:03 PMName: Kyle
Rating:
Comment: I cannot stop thinking about this film. So good. Great follow up to the wonderful Harvie Krumpet.
14/04/2009 12:07 AMName: chris
Rating:
Comment: Loved Mary and Max. Adam Elliot has produced a wonderful movie and I hope he produces more of them. I agree with Margaret's review above.
13/04/2009 11:14 PMName: movienut
Rating:
Comment: I love the narration. This movie is the best one I have seen in a long time
13/04/2009 7:19 PMName: nikky
Rating:
Comment: Just wonderful! What a major work. Such pathos, funny, sad, cynical. Great narration by Barry Humphries. Loved all the iconic Aussie kitch. Not really for kids - Mary's depressed state scene could be a bad influence. Only criticism - possibly a little long.
13/04/2009 6:28 PMName: Sebastian
Rating:
Comment: Absolutely Brilliant. The two most memorable characters known. Walking out of the cinema, it took a while to recover. This movie Is ever so gloomy and depressing in everway possible. I went in with a possitive character and came out with a negative.

Although this movie is rated PG, Don't bring your kids. It discusses matters children will no understand, and it was sad to see the little kids laugh when people died. There were some quirky scenes throughout the movie, made me laugh, made me cry, overall an unforgettable experience.
13/04/2009 1:49 PMName: Soo-Darwin
Rating:
Comment: Yes five stars. Mary and Max delivered on every front. How many movies can make you truly laugh again and again? This same movie is also so moving. You feel deeply about these wonderful clay characters and I cried in those last scenes.
Ps I have to disagree with David, and I don't usually. The narration is an important part in this film and would be the poorer without Barry''s lovely work. This has to be another nude statue winner. What a joy it is.
12/04/2009 9:08 PMName: Stephen Saunders
Rating:
Comment: I think anyone would generously want this movie to be really good, given the sheer amount of time, love and thought obviously lavished upon it. But it feels longer than it actually is, being hemmed in by the predictably simple call-and-response structure of its narrative. As for the animation standards, we're certainly not talking Pixar or Studio Ghibli here. It's been consistently overpraised - although a few of the American papers hammered it - and is really one for the true believers. This is a case of the road to hell being paved with poetic sensibilities.
12/04/2009 8:55 PMName: Evie
Rating:
Comment: This film is so unique and interesting. I'm still not sure what to make of it but one thing is for sure - it's a film like no other and for that it is worth seeing. I loved the detail put into these characters -details you wouldn't see in a Hollywood film.
12/04/2009 7:35 AMName: Jillian
Rating:
Comment: Mary and Max was a profound movie that only someone who thinks and feels deeply could have conceived. Confronting themes of mental disability, loneliness and suicide are not the usual topics of choice for clay animation; however Elliot manages to handle this with genuine warmth, sincerity and respect. Elliot has been quite brave, even revolutionary in his choice of subject material. But he has handled it in such a way as to [hopefully] cause people to reflect more thoughtfully about human differences.
It is peppered with iconic Australian memorabilia that will render this feature a classic for years to come.
11/04/2009 5:51 PMName: Robert
Rating:
Comment: I love animation and usually get very sentimental watching movies, but Mary and Max failed to move me. Partly I was distracted by a series of anachronisms (Rubik's Cube, Stephen Hawking and Asperger's Syndrome amongst others) that simply weren't known to the general public in the mid-70s. Also, the continual stream of narration, telling me the story rather than letting me experience it for myself, may have contributed to the distancing I felt. Finally, the film's glumness seems, at times, a little unrelenting. Still, it's an impressive achievement technically, with great performances, and a small triumph for the Australian film-industry.
10/04/2009 7:09 PMName: belle
Rating:
Comment: Clever ,witty, gloomy .Young asperger viewer was distressed at the end. Does this mean
Adam elliot has struck a nerve with AS people,? or portrayal of max as "mental" was too much to bear. In the middle , aspergers was explained, but if you had never heard of it then you would be none the wiser because it appeared as a "made-up" disorder. At the start or end , a formal brief explanation of AS could be made, that it is real and people do have it. negative : adam elliot crammed in too many stereotypes ...
10/04/2009 5:02 PMName: JoMovie
Rating:
Comment: Amazing claymation, but the story leaves a lot to be desired. Never really seems to go anywhere. Not really suitable for kids, but lacking for adults. Wait for the DVD - when it's in the weekly section.
10/04/2009 3:04 PMName: Oliver Gigacz
Rating:
Comment: This is one of the best animated films I have seen in a long time. It is very well written very well directed and is very addictive.
9/04/2009 6:17 PMName: stephen
Rating:
Comment: the narration is sublime. Barry Humphries voice and diction should be played to all high school students for the first minute of every english lesson for all time! and that's just the narration, the rest matches.
The film is wonderful, a real achievement...WARNING not for children
9/04/2009 3:36 PMName: Felicity
Rating:
Comment: David has made some worthwhile scripting observations but I have with the film's budget Adam has done a brilliant job on this film.
9/04/2009 3:28 PMName: Boozer
Rating:
Comment: Saw Interview with Adam Elliott only, but have a copy of Harvey Crumpet.
How can we get in touch with Adam Elliott ?
Grand-daughter has done some work with Plasticine on a table top and hand held camera.
There might be an opening for her, She has just completed year 12.
In the mid-1970's, a homely, friendless Australian girl of 8 picks a name out of a Manhattan phone book and writes to him; she includes a chocolate bar. She's Mary Dinkle, the only child of an alcoholic mother and a distracted father. He's Max Horowitz, living alone in New York, overweight, subject to anxiety attacks. He writes back, with chocolate. Thus begins a 20-year correspondence, interrupted by a stay in an asylum and a few misunderstandings. Mary falls in love with a neighbor, saves money to have a birthmark removed and deals with loss. Max has a friendship with a neighbor, tries to control his weight, and finally gets the dream job. Will the two ever meet face to face? It is a simple tale of pen-friendship between two very different people; Mary Dinkle, living in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia and New Yorker Max Horovitz. Spanning 20 years and 2 continents, Mary and Max's friendship survives much more than the average diet of life's ups and downs.
A claymated feature film from the creators of the Academy Award-winning short animation HARVIE KRUMPET, MARY & MAX is a simple tale of pen-friendship between Mary Dinkle, a chubby, lonely eight-year-old in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horovitz, a 44-year-old, obese Jew with Asperger's Syndrome living in the chaos of New York. Spanning 20 years and two continents, Mary and Max's friendship survives much more than the average diet of life's ups and downs. Like Harvie Krumpet, MARY AND MAX is innocent yet not naïve, as it takes us on a journey that explores friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity, kleptomania, sexual difference, trust, copulating dogs, religious difference, agoraphobia, and much more.

It was created with Claymation, its main characters speak with adorable accents, and funny-looking animals are involved – but “Wallace and Gromit” this ain’t.
Director Adam Elliot won an Oscar for 2003′s “Harvie Krumpet”, a 23-minute animated short about a one-testicled, Tourette’s-ridden World War II survivor and animal rights activist, and he brings that same gift for unique characters and melancholy overtones to his debut full-length feature “Mary and Max”. My review after the jump:
“Mary and Max” is an unusual, difficult-to-describe movie, to say the least. The broad strokes go like this: Mary Daisy Dinkle, a crushingly lonely eight-year-old Australian girl with a largely absentee father and an overbearing monster for a mother, goes thumbing through a post office phone book, chooses a random name – Max Jerry Horovitz of New York – and sends him a letter, thus beginning a long transcontinental friendship.
It’s a friendship that both Max and Mary desperately need. Mary, with a birthmark on her forehead that looks like poop, endures terrible abuse at home and at school, while the overweight, anxious Max spends his days picking up litter and attending Overeaters Anonymous support groups between “chocolate hot dog” binges. If that sounds like an awful lot of strange darkness for one movie, it is – but it only serves to underscore “Mary and Max’s” tremendous, bittersweet heart.
As comically overstated as parts of it can seem, Elliot says “Mary and Max” is based on a true story – and in fact, the Australian filmmaker has enjoyed a 20-year pen pal friendship with a New Yorker who, like Max, has Asperger syndrome. Max’s discovery of his diagnosis is arguably the key moment in the film, setting in motion Mary’s pursuit of her life’s calling (which echoes Elliot’s real-life dedication to educating people about the disease). What really sets the movie apart, though, is Elliot’s deft way with “Mary and Max’s” larger themes – namely self-acceptance, the redemptive power of honest human connection, and the idea that life is really more about the journey than the destination. (Do not, in other words, expect a Disney-style happy ending in the third act.)
It’s an unusual film, in the best sense of the word. We’ve seen enough animated features for adults that it probably isn’t accurate to say “Mary and Max” does anything new for the form, but it’s still probably the most powerful Claymation movie you’re likely to see. Like a juggling unicyclist under the big top, Elliot gives the appearance of imminent failure – an unlikely coincidence here; a gag about rooster shit there – but what looks like chaos is a carefully considered rhythm, and by the time Mary finishes her second letter to Max, scribbling on pilfered butcher paper by the light of an open refrigerator and wondering how people can be so mean, you shouldn’t be surprised if you find yourself blinking back tears along with her. Like Mary and Max’s friendship, this movie is an act of tenderness that will linger long after the closing credits roll.

Adam Elliot’s claymation labour of love is as heartfelt and sadsack-funny as his 2003 Oscar-winning short ‘Harvie Krumpet’ (which you’ll find on YouTube). Philip Seymour Hoffman provides the voice of Max, a lumpen 44-year-old New Yorker with Asperger’s who embarks on a penfriendship with Mary, a lonely eight-year-old Australian girl. The pair’s letters over 20 years are full of bonkers and poignant non-sequiturs: ‘Have you ever been attacked by a crow or similar large bird?’ asks Max. ‘Mum says I’m growing up to be a heifer. Which I think is some kind of cow,’ writes Mary. Barry Humphries lends an expertly arch narration.

There is plenty of gross stuff that kids will love: Max collects his toenail clippings in jars labelled by year. But the 12A certificate is about right, taking into account rutting dogs, death by accidental embalming and electric-shock therapy. Mary’s questions become increasingly curious (‘Have you got some wives? Have you done sexy?’), triggering an anxiety attack that lands Max in a psychiatric unit. And while perhaps it doesn’t fully sustain its 90-odd-minute running time, ‘Mary and Max’ is a moving celebration of oddness and friendship.
Mary & Max - wonderfully unique and personal animation, 14 April 2009

Author: MatthewInSydney from Australia
There's a constant stream of animated films these days, but mostly they're either glossy Hollywood product (Pixar/Dreamworks), or Japanese anime. For adults wanting something different we have to wait for the likes of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Waltz With Bashir, Persepolis, or Aardman's films to turn up. Mary & Max is one of these films that comes as a complete departure from all the others, both in visual and storytelling style, and sticks in the mind because of it. I won't repeat the plot here, so I'll just mention a few pros and cons. The cons are obvious. Some people will be put off by the almost constant narration (which took me a while to get used to), the rather numerous calamities (a lot more than you'd expect if you thought this was just a kids film), and the sadness within some of these people's stories. It's actually a little surprising that the film got made without the people financing it demanding a script that was more tailored to appeal to a wider audience. What we get is something that feels a whole lot more personal than the higher profile animated films. It feels personal, and therefore real, and the explanation is that it was written from life by a director who has a real feeling and sympathy for people who don't quite fit into the world, and feel alienated or are misunderstood by others. Mary was partly inspired by the director's own childhood (and there's a little bit of Toni Collette's Muriel Heslop thrown in I suspect), and Max is also based on a real person he's been pen friends with (but so far has never met in person). The way the film handles his Asperger's Syndrome just feels different to how you'd normally see such an issue handled on screen. There's a constant stream of humour (ironic, black, childish), and I really enjoyed the small perfect touches on growing up in an Australian suburb in the 70's and 80's, and the depiction of grey New York, as it appears to the easily frightened Max. The animation is constantly a joy to watch, and I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen where it can be properly appreciated in all it's hand-made glory.
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79 out of 99 people found the following review useful:
Witty, well observed and wondrous, 16 February 2009

Author: asphodelfilms from Melbourne, Australia
I went into this film at the Berlinale with mixed feelings. I knew that Adam Elliot's shorts were great but frankly the last few years haven't been great for Australian films and a number of short filmmakers have made disappointing first features.

But right from the opening frame, this film shattered any of my doubts. It's so refreshing to see a film told with such a strong unique vision and pulled off so effortlessly. This is made even more remarkable not only as it's made using stop motion animation but also because of the characters and subject matter it tackles.

Mary is an 8 year old outcast living in the suburbs of Melbourne. On a whim, she chooses a name at random in a phone book and sends off a letter asking about life on the other side of the world. The letter is received by Max, an overweight depressive in his 40's living in New York, suffering from Aspergers Syndrome. A friendship is born as the pair exchange letters over the next 20 years. offering each other support, advice and the chance to see life through another set of eyes.

While the world is painted in gloomy hues of brown and grey and the characters lead bleak lives, the genius of the script is that the characters never wallow or feel sorry for themselves. The tone is kept humorous and balanced allowing us to be moved by the characters as they stumble through life but also laugh at their foibles and observations of the world they struggle to fit into. Not since Muriel's Wedding has Australia produced so fine a comedy with such rich detail and I probably got even more laughs out of this.

My only criticism of the film would be some of its music particularly its use in one key scene of the Humming Chorus (already used so memorably in the finale of Heavenly Creatures). It meant that in a critical moment I was thinking of Kate Winslet up to no good instead of connecting with Mary & Max. But this is more a personal concern and if that's the weakest thing about the film, it's doing pretty well. I hope this film is seen by the wide audience it so richly deserves.
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64 out of 77 people found the following review useful:
Refreshing and engaging given the home-grown talent involved., 10 April 2009

Author: Marmaduke90 from Australia
In Australia in 1976, a young girl named Mary (voiced by Bethany Whitmore) is a lonely child looking for a friend. She lives with both her parents but her mother is a chain smoking drunk and a thief and her father, who works in a factory putting the strings on teabags, would rather spend time with his collection of dead birds. Mary remains curious about life and finds the address of an American living in New York. She writes him a letter to become his pen pal. The recipient is Max (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a severely overweight Jewish hypochondriac and full-time no-hoper. Gradually, as they send each other letters, Mary and Max's relationship develops and we begin to learn more about their past and their heartache and insecurities of being alone.

Following the short animated film, Harvey Krumpet, director Adam Elliot has constructed his first full feature claymation picture, displaying as much skill as many of the major mainstream studios. The film has been immaculately designed, with many tiny details and features placed into the sets, all of which would have taken many countless hours to mould. The lighting and colour scheme too are significant to the unique look of the film, ranging from highly saturated to almost entirely black and white, to reflect the self-depreciative and sometimes gloomy tone of the narrative. It is a film made of great patience and craftsmanship.

Yet the strongest asset of the film is the humour of the screenplay. Whereas many mainstream animated films such as Shrek and The Incredibles adopt a great deal of hilarity from their pop culture references, Elliot has an eye for the simpler things in life. From the way Mary and Max share their eating habits of chocolate hot dogs, to how Max describes his past jobs, including a street cleaner and a member of the Communist Party, the humour of the film remains truly original, bizarre and often very witty. Elliot excels in his ability write about the most normal things and then turn them on their heads, or degrade his miserable characters in the most hilarious way. Yet there are moments of poignancy too, such as where Mary describes her difficulty at school as she is teased for the birthmark on her forehead, that provide the film's screenplay with a subtext - no matter how simple – about isolation and the need for friends.

The use of Barry Humphries' voice over to convey much of the story is initially highly annoying and intrusive. In the opening scenes it feels overly used and distracting from the story and the detail of the scenes. Gradually though, as the film moves from its opening exposition, the voice over is used slightly less and its scarcity achieves the storybook quality and poetry that it deserves. Barry Humphries reads his lines beautifully. The rest of the voice actors too are splendid. Philip Seymour Hoffman is again in fine form, adding a slight accent to his voice and the decision to model his voice with a character of a similar physique fits nicely. He is quickly become one of the most diverse actors in the world. Bethany Whitmore as the young Mary is equally impressive too and her voice has a real innocence about it. Toni Collette and Eric Bana also have much smaller roles too. It is a well thought out voice cast and while some of the minor characters verge on grotesque, there is still a real sweetness about this film that carries it.

Elliot has described his film as being suitable for everyone. This is rather optimistic. I don't know how particularly young children, who have been conditioned by the more mainstream animated titles, would appreciate the film. It is extremely funny for the most part, but there is also a real sense of gloom around these characters that might not be as appealing to children. And towards the end, the film, despite being well under two hours, begins to lose a bit of momentum as the characters wave in and out of their depleted lives. Perhaps the films message of learning to live with your flaws and accepting the path life has given you is something that children, even if they don't entirely understand now though, needs to be seen anyway. Regardless, it remains a mostly sharp and funny film that many will find refreshing and engaging given the home-grown talent involved.
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66 out of 83 people found the following review useful:
So excellent, that I couldn't recommend it more!, 21 August 2009

Author: ori_64 from Israel
It's hard to describe just how excellent this film is. The story is great, both very funny and touching. The art-design and animation are a delight, thoughtful, very rich in details, and very consistent in style. The music is great. The storyline and direction... I can't find a bad word to say, except that the story drags a little half- way through, but then picks itself up again toward the end. Truly, a must-see. If you like adult animation, this is definitely for you. I agree with those comparing it to Aardman films, Waltz with Bashir and Persepolis, but this movie's animation is so professional, that only Aardman truly compares.
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39 out of 45 people found the following review useful: lovely oddball and admirably complex, 22 March 2010

Author: manicman84 from Poland
Coming from Australia, Mary and Max is one of these few films you'll remember all your life. This amazing claymation touches upon an unlikely friendship between two pen pals: a young girl living in Australia and an aging Jew from New York. It's unbelievable what a precisely structured narrative this is. Director-writer Adam Elliot blends odd scatological, yet clever humour with poignant dramatizations to a splendid effect creating one of the best tragicomedies of the past few years. The fact that it's in the form of claymation only helps to enhance uniqueness of the whole experience. The movie was 5 years in the making and this is visible in its every frame. Elliot masterly captures the motion in an endlessly creative manner. Most importantly though, his lovably oddball characters are well developed and admirably complex with all their awkward traits and quirks. Due to its serious themes and dark tone, Mary and Max is an adult movie aiming much higher than its big studio counterparts. It happens to be more contemplative, and intelligent mimicking the real life with all its ups and downs. Calling Elliot's movie an extraordinary piece of art is certainly not an overstatement.
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39 out of 49 people found the following review useful:
G r e a t., 21 January 2010

Author: haider ejaz (hyder_sagg2003) from Pakistan
Just finished watching this, And Loved it. Previously Wall-e was the only animation that I rated 10/10. And this is the second one.

If You have not seen this You have no idea about how good it is.Its very well written (A True Story) , well Directed, narrated and equally good Animation in all respects. You don't Find Much stuff like this.

Its would get a rating of Pg-13 because of sex related material but I think every Children of 10+ should see this because the sex related material is kept very implicit.

I hope It will get Nominated for best Animation for year 2011, Best screenplay and best picture as well.

I have much more to say but since I have to review lot more movies I will just tell ya: I just Love It.

9.5/10. (Better than all animations of 2009) Can't wait to see it in top 250.
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58 out of 87 people found the following review useful:
It's a genuine celebration of the value of difference., 23 May 2009

Author: John Frame (jvframe@ozemail.com.au) from Brisbane, Australia
Oscar winning (and proudly gay) animation artist Adam Elliot's acclaimed clay-mation feature film "Mary & Max" is astoundingly rewarding wonderful entertainment on the big screen.

It's an intriguing tale, starting in the mid seventies, of the ongoing true friendship of two long distance pen-pals, younger Mary in rural Australia and older Max in the rat-race of New York City. A significant element of the story involves Max's experience of living with Asperger Syndrome, knowing painfully full well that he senses the world in a radically different way to most. I've never seen any other project deal so honestly and powerfully with that condition. It's a genuine celebration of the value of difference.

There's lots to laugh and think about - and the attention to detail is staggering. Australia's living legend Barry Humphries excels as the narrator.

I loved the soundtrack which strongly featured two of my favourite Penguin Cafe Orchestra compositions. I've ordered the soundtrack CD already.
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30 out of 38 people found the following review useful:
Unforgettable and Heartbreaking Bleak Tale of Friendship and Loneliness, 3 September 2010

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In 1976, in Australia, the misfit and outcast eight-year old girl Mary Daisy Dinkle lives in Mount Waverley with her alcoholic shoplifter mother Vera Lorraine Dinkle that is addicted in Sherry and her absent father Noel Norman Dinkle that works in the Earl Grey Factory attaching strings in the teabag and spends his leisure time in his hobby - taxidermy. Mary has absolutely no friends and is teased by her schoolmate Benny Clifford. She has a complex because of her brown birthmark in the forehead and she adores her favorite cartoon The Noblets that she watches with her rooster Ethel and condensed milk. Meanwhile, in New York, the lonely forty-four year-old Max Jerry Horowitz has Asperge Syndrome and trouble to sleep and is obese since he eats chocolate hot-dogs to compensate his anxiety. He frequently goes to the Overeaters Anonymous Meeting. Max does not have any friend, only the invisible Mr. Ravioli, and also loves The Noblets. His life goals are to have a friend, Noblets and chocolate. One day, Mary picks Max address out of an American phone-book and she decides to write to him to ask from where babies come in America. Along their lives, they become pen pals and their unusual friendship oscillates due to the anxiety attacks of the unstable Max.

"Mary and Max" is an unforgettable and heartbreaking bleak tale of friendship and loneliness. The story is bittersweet and witty, with an ironic black humor and provokes the most conflictive emotions in the viewers, funny in a moment, and depressive in the other. The excellent animation follows the dark style of Tim Burton and the screenplay is a profound insight in human behavior. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Mary and Max – Uma Amizade Diferente" ("Mary and Max – A Different Friendship")
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42 out of 62 people found the following review useful:
And you thought Dial-up was slow...., 4 May 2009

Author: (anthonyjlangford@yahoo.com.au) from Australia
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.

The choice of music is ideal, setting a tone that is complimentary and yet as though these classical pieces were designed specifically for this wide, but often claustrophobic gray universe. I hope audiences embrace it on the big screen as there is glorious detail lurking in the background, providing an extra chuckle or irony for the keen eye. If there was ever a reason to leave the home theater, this is it. Mary and Max is a brilliant, entertaining work of visual art combined with depth and grace.

There was a couple of moments when I raised eyebrows at certain things that didn't fit correctly for the late seventies, such as the mention of Stephen Hawking as well as cigarette patches (which debuted in the early 90's) but otherwise this laugh out loud, tear to the eye unique celluloid experience is one of the standouts of the year.
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46 out of 70 people found the following review useful:
Great Movie, 26 May 2009

Author: d-b_tas-1 from Australia
I thought this movie was very well made. I can relate to Max's character, as i work with people who have Asperges Syndrome. The creator showed the audience what it is really like, in society, to have a mental disability of this kind. The use of gray colour with a splash of red when showing the scenes with Max, was very effective, and give the audience the sense of what Max was feeling. I saw this movie with work colleagues who also work with children with this disorder, and we were all curious to see how this disorder would be shown. We were all very pleased.

This movie shows the audience what people with asperges syndrome go through in day to day life, and how they don't understand things that most people would. As well as how they do/do not cope with some issues.

This movie is not for children. It is quite sad, but with some really funny parts. and for those who live in Melbourne, especially, you will understand some of the references.

I give this movie 10/10.

After 5 years in the making it is definitely worth watching
'God gave us relatives,' said Ethel Mumford. 'Thank God we can choose our friends.' Mary and Max tells the story of an unexpected friendship between two very different people.
Mary Daisy Dinkle (Bethany Whitmore) is eight years, three months and nine days old when the story begins, in 1976. She has eyes the colour of muddy puddles and a birthmark on her forehead 'the colour of poo'. She lives with her parents in the brown world of Mount Waverly, one of the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Mary's father, Noel Norman Dinkle, works in a teabag factory and spends his spare time practicing amateur taxidermy. Her mother, Vera Lorraine Dinkle (Renée Geyer), is a shoplifter, and is addicted to Auntie Joan's Cooking Sherry, which causes her to always seem 'wobbly' to Mary.
Max Jerry Horowitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a 44-year-old atheistic Jew with Asperger's Syndrome. He weighs 352 pounds (almost 160 kilos), is 'as tall as a six-foot tree', and lives with three snails, a parrot, a one-eyed cat and a regularly-replaced goldfish in the grey world of New York City. Max goes to an Overeaters Anonymous class which has no effect on his obesity, and regularly visits a psychiatrist-come-aerobics instructor named Dr Bernard Hazelhof (Adam Elliot).
Despite their differences in age, gender, nationality and religion, Mary and Max share several similarities. Both are social outcasts. He lost his parents when he was young and her parents are too involved in their own lives to pay her much attention. Mary and Max both love chocolate and share an appreciation for a cartoon show called The Noblets.
The film's writer/director, Adam Elliot, explains that despite his success, he often feels as though he is 'not in tune with the rest of the world', and he empathises with other people who similarly feel that they don't fit in. 'These are the people whose stories I want to hear and want to see on the big screen.' Mary and Max exemplify people who exist solely on the fringes of society, each with their own very limited social group. While we probably won't have experienced circumstances as extreme as either of the title characters, we have probably all felt out of place at some time or another. It is these times when we most need a friend to talk to, to share our experiences with, or to just be there for us when we're feeling down. Hopefully, in most cases, that close friend will be someone nearby, ready to provide a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on. On the other hand, some people might find it easier to express themselves through writing, or to open up to an impartial outsider. And friendship is more than two people being physically close to one another. When Max goes to see Dr Hazelhof, the moustachioed psychiatrist expresses it thus: 'True friendship is seen through the heart, not through the eyes.' Though Max has various pets and an invisible friend, it is not until Mary starts writing to him that he receives a taste of real friendship.
Until his recent death, Mary's best friend had been Grandpoppy Ralph (Adam Elliot). Once, when Vera confused and disheartened her daughter by telling Mary she was an accident, Grandpoppy Ralph succeeded in raising her spirits, telling her that 'babies were deliberate, and found by dads at the bottom of their beer.' Later, when browsing through a book of strange American names, such as Rockefeller and Finklestein, Mary determines to write to one of them, to find out whether American babies are found at the bottom of cola cans. Thus begins a correspondence,[1] which (though each letter threatens to bring on anxiety attacks in Max) manages to last two decades, and allows the two friends to share their lives through their writings.
Max has a mental breakdown, accidentally kills a mime and wins the lottery, all the while putting on more weight. An older and taller Mary (Toni Collette) goes to university, loses both her parents and marries her ongoing crush, Damien Popodopolous (Eric Bana). Despite Max's having told Mary explicitly, 'I do not feel disabled, defective or a need to be cured. I like being an Aspie,' Mary uses him as a case study for her university thesis paper on Asperger's Syndrome. When her paper is published as a book, she sends him an advance copy, writing, 'Dear Max, I am very proud to give you the very first copy of my book about your disability, and the hopes that we have to one day cure it.' This action sparks in Max feelings of 'hurt, confuzzledness, betrayal, discomfort, distress, and wheeziness'.
Mary feels terrible for betraying her friend's trust. She destroys every copy of her forthcoming book and begs him for his forgiveness. He initially refuses, and she sinks into a pit of sherry-fuelled despair. But eventually he relents and forgives her. 'The reason I forgive you is because you are not perfect. You are imperfect. And so am I. All humans are imperfect.' He goes on to explain that we have to accept ourselves, warts and all. 'We don't get to choose our warts. They are a part of us, and we have to live with them. We can, however, choose our friends. And I am glad I have chosen you.'
Friendship is an important part of life, especially for people like Max who have trouble making those connections. Unfortunately however, as Mary clearly demonstrates and as Max points out, we're all imperfect beings. All our human friends will somehow or other let us down. It may be in something small, like not making it to a prearranged appointment, or it could be something that could be perceived as betrayal. It may be difficult or easy to forgive them, but we will inevitably have to make that choice. There is one person in the entire universe whose friendship we can always rely upon. That person is named in the Bible as Jesus Christ. Bewilderingly he can legitimately hold claim to being fully man and fully God. His humanness enables him to understand completely the struggles that we are going through, while his God-ness provides us with the assurance that he is completely perfect. The Bible tells us that God will neither fail us nor abandon us (Deuteronomy 31:8). And if God will never fail nor abandon us, it follows on that Jesus will be as trustworthy. He wants to be our friend, and we need only choose to accept his offer of friendship.
[1] Max explains that American babies come from eggs laid by rabbis, Catholic nuns, or dirty lonely prostitutes, depending on your religious persuasion.

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