Mary and Max - Film Review

fig.1 film poster

“Mary and Max” is a 2009 Australian film directed by Adam Elliot. The film starts in 1976 and runs throughout the 70s and 80s, presenting an important factor to the story. While the piece contains moments of laughter the story remains bleak evoking powerful emotions. Even the colour scheme itself reflects this with greys and muddy browns. But never the less Elliot’s film could be described as a potent one.

There is a unique quality in Elliot’s film thanks to the sound design chosen. Over the duration of the animation there are very few spoken words by the characters. Instead action speaks louder than words with each character model capable of portraying a wide range of expressions including anger and embarrassment. Accompanying the footage is the playful and contrasting sound track helping to prepare the audience ahead as the film begins to evoke melancholy feelings.

The film covers a number of themes including loss of family, friendship and mental disabilities. However one particular theme that stood out was ‘coming of age’. It can be debated that this is not the core theme of the film; perhaps ‘coming of age’ is not the complete and correct term. It is more accurately described as maturing and finding one’s place in the world. It may seem strange that this is what could be taken from “Mary and Max” as there are numerous underlying themes, some of them more adult than others.  

Mary and Max could be seen as children who never grew up but retain adult privileges. As Max’s past is delved into it is apparent that he was always lonely, isolated and shunned. At the age of 44 this has not changed. He indulges in his two guilty pleasures chocolate and ‘Noblets’ a child’s television show that exists in Elliot’s universe. Mary also has a similar indulgence of sweet treats and the show hinting towards the child-like innocence shared between the two. It is because of these common traits the two are able to get on so well forming the strong bond even with the physically distance between them. 

Max only matures when he is able to make the realisation that people are ‘imperfect’, his gift to Mary of children’s toys resembles Max moving beyond his child-like fascination. This theme is more apparent for Mary as the film takes place over her physical change from a child to an adult. Ultimately she finds her place in the world as a responsible mother. Other themes support the ‘coming of age’ as ‘death’ challenges the characters and ‘friendship’ helps both Mary and Max find where they belong.

This is reflected in the medium used for this film. Rather than opting for live action or traditional hand-drawn animation Elliot used Claymation, a style often related with “Wallace and Gromit”. Alongside being synonymous to “Wallace and Gromit”, Claymation is often related to children’s cartoons. The innocence in the style mirrors that of the main characters. Despite the nature of Claymation there is a rather eerie sense that is applied in the form of the dark colour schemes chosen.  Film critic Andrew Pulver describes the style as “sickly-cute, alarmingly grotesque, and right-on at the same time – often in the very same scene” (Pulver, 2010). It is obvious that Mary and Max belong to separate worlds, (somehow making the all-important connection as friends) as Max’s world is grey and Mary’s muddy tones of brown. Even the use of a narrator in this particular fashion also harks back to old childhood cartoons.

fig. 2 Max’s grey world and Mary’s muddy brown one

One of the other important themes presented in the film surrounds mental disabilities in particular Asperger’s. As Max has Asperger’s during the 70s he is often looked over by society. Psychology was a comparatively recent science when compared to the likes of physics and biology. With the current understanding and wide spread knowledge it is hard to imagine how such people were dismissed.

Film maker Adam Elliot has received over 100 film awards and for good reason. The majority of his works have a bittersweet tone which is true in “Mary and Max”. Refusing to work with major film companies, each of his films require a long process and shot independently. His first known film ‘Uncle’ (1996) had a total run time of around 6 minutes. With each passing film Elliot extended the duration of his animations with ‘Harvie Krumpet’ his 2003 film having 23 minutes of run time. Alongside the duration Elliot also pushed the way his content moved his audience emotionally. This is evidenced in an interview where he stated, “After Harvie Krumpet, I wanted to tackle something longer and meatier” (Desowitz, 2009) and as the interview continues it is clear that Elliot is not driven by money but instead passion. He wants to provoke the audience and engage them. 

“I try to make films with depth, substance; films that deeply engage, move and make the audience think” (Desowitz, 2009)

While the film retains strong elements it is restricted to being screen at film festivals. In the end “Mary and Max” is a sad tale that has received positive reviews from both critics and audience alike winning several awards. 

Bibliography

Desowitz, B. (2009). ‘Mary and Max': Elliot and Clayography. [Online] Available at: https://www.awn.com/animationworld/mary-and-max-elliot-and-clayography [Accessed 19/01/18]

Pulver, A. (2010). Mary and Max – review. [Online] Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/21/mary-and-max-review [Accessed 19/01/18]

Illustration list

Fig. 1 Film poster. [Online] Available at: http://img.moviepostershop.com/mary-and-max-movie-poster-2009-1010550958.jpg [Accessed 19/01/18]

Fig.2 Max’s grey world and Mary’s muddy brown one. [Online] Available at: https://agoodmovietowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/mary-and-max-together.jpg [Accessed  19/01/18]