Film Review Mary and Max

Fig 1, Laughing with them or at them?

The film Mary and Max is about an unlikely pen pale friendship of an eight-year-old girl
called Mary Dinkle who lives in Australia and a forty-four-year-old man called Max who lives
in New York. They become friends through Mary ripping a sheet out of an address book in
the bank. Their exchange of letters emerges as the emotional lifeline for their unhappy
existences. The film follows their life through the struggle, heartbreak, and disappointment
that has been placed on each of their lives. They both have issues that they need to
overcome, and both have no friends to talk to in each of their lives.
Director Adam Elliot created this Claymation piece and it was inspired by his real-life pen pal
relationship he started more than 25 years ago. This film was shown at the 2009 Sundance
Film Festival and it is Elliot's only feature film. In tone, aesthetic and narrative. "All of this is
rendered in almost completely monochromatic Claymation – only occasional colours stand
out, such as the red pompom Mary sends to Max at one point." (Pulver, 2010).
The way that the film Mary and Max was created was by Claymation. Adam and his crew
constructed 133 sets, 212 puppets and 475 props. Elliot employed six animators who each
completed roughly five sets a day. With this type of animation. ‘The way that the animation
(and type of animation; Claymation) deals with and picks these themes up is expressive and
at times emotive. The use of exaggeration and other animation principles is well thought-out
and utilized." (Newbutt, 2014).
 Fig 2, Behind the scene

The impact of the film supported the theme of the film, with both the colour and voice over
the film had a dark look to it and the humour of the film works well with the clay models.
"The subject matter and tone of the film is often dark, sad and upsetting but Elliot skilfully
balances such moments with dark humour and carefully timed endearing
moments." (Caldwell, 2009). If the medium would have been changed the characters and
sets of what the film describes might not have worked in a way in which the director Adam
Elliot wanted it to.
The film was received very well with the critics and won Adam Elliot the Ottawa
International Animation Festival Grand Prize, Australian Directors Guild Award for Best
Direction in a Feature Film and Ottawa International Animation Festival Grand Prize. The
production of the film was small as Adam only had a team or six other people to help him to
create this Claymation. It’s a standout moment in a standout movie. Mary and Max are sad
but uplifting, beautiful but haunting, and capable of shifting from whimsy to tragedy in a
heartbeat. (Buckmaster,2014)
Illustration

Fig 1, Laughing with them or at them? At: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/21/mary-

and-max-review [Accessed on 30/01/18]

Fig. 2 'Mary and Max Behind the Scenes', (Unknown), [Online Image]. At:
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/dc/c4/77/dcc477779fb4ecdd1f18e898ff23dd49--mary-and-max-behind-
the-scenes.jpg [Accessed Date: 30/01/2018]

Bibliography

Pulver, A., 2010; Mary and Max - Review; The Guardian;

At: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/21/mary-and-max-review [accessed on 30/01/18]

Newbutt, N., 2014; Exploring an Autism Condition In 'Mary and Max'; Animation Studies 2.0;
At http://blog.animationstudies.org/?p=704 [accessed on 30/01/18]

Caldwell,. T., 2009; Film Review - Mary and Max (2009); Cinema Autopsy;
At: http://blog.cinemaautopsy.com/2009/04/05/film-review-mary-and-max-2009/

Buckmaster, L., 2014, Mary and Max: rewatching classic Australian films. At:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/australia-culture-blog/2014/may/30/mary-and-max-rewatching-
classic-australian-films