Introduction:
The Australian movie Memoir of a Snail is a 2024 tragicomedy stop animation for adults about the graphics of director Adam Elliot, famous for Oscar short films. This beautiful and sad animated movie tells one of the serious life stories of a lonely freak named Grace Pudel voiced by Sarah Snook. The story which is based on Elliot’s life puts Grace through her development stages and encompasses different stages in her life, isolation, obsession, and the search for one’s identity. Featuring voice talents such as Kodi Smit-McPhee, Eric Bana and Jacki Weaver Memoir of a Snail will cater to both laughter and tears.
Release Date:
Memoir of a Snail was shown for the first time in the world at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 10, 2024. After its festival circuit, it was released in Australian theaters by Madman Entertainment on October 17, 2024, and it would be in other countries shortly after. This release strategy is expected to pay out during the fall when there are groups of audiences that are keen on animated films that are offered a different twist.
Crew:
| Role | Name(s) |
|---|---|
| Director | Adam Elliot |
| Producer | Liz Kearney, Adam Elliot |
| Story Writer | Adam Elliot |
| Editor | Bill Murphy |
| Music Director | Elena Kats-Chernin |
Cast:
| Actor/Actress | Character Name |
|---|---|
| Sarah Snook | Grace Pudel |
| Nick Cave | Bill Clarke |
| Eric Bana | James The Magistrate |
| Tony Armstrong | Ken |
| Jacki Weaver | Pinky |
| Magda Szubanski | Ruth |
| Dominique Pinon | Percy Pudel |
| Kodi Smit-McPhee | Gilbert Pudel |
| Luke Elliot | Headmaster |
| Paul Capsis | Ian |
Story:
It is the story of Grace Pudel who was a little girl raised in Melbourne in 1970s Australia. Grace shares the house with her twin brother Gilber and their paralytic French father Percy, who is a drunkard too. The life of Grace starts with her being fascinated by snails, which was one more activity they both had in common and her mother died in childbirth. In the course of events, spectators see how close friendship of Grace and Gilbert who defends her at school from bullying because of the cleft lip. Unfortunately, disaster leaving Percy dead, happens and this results in the splitting of the two twins, as they are shifted to different foster parents around Australia.
Key Plot Points:
- Childhood Trauma: Following Percy’s death Grace was taken to Canberra whereas Gilbert was left to live with a vicious religious assistedfamily in Perth.
- Isolation and Obsession: Grace starts to get lonely when they move to Canberra and starts to amass snails and anything to do with snails.
- Friendship with Pinky: Grace befriends an old women named Pinky, who takes her in to live with her, thus becomes Grace foster mother.
- Tragic Loss: For instance, Grace who becomes an adult gets involved with a man called Ken only to learn, that he[ Gilbert], is dead.
- Self-Discovery: The movie also ends in Grace embracing herself in a process of discovering that she needs to leave her past behind.
Review:
Other critics as have opined on the film have had a lot of good things to say about it including the performances of the voices, the animate aspect of the movie and the emotional resonance it has. Over all, the film’s take on such themes especially the focus on joking and whimsy has gone well down with the audience.
Positives:
- Unique Animation Style: This makes it even more suitable for the subject of the movie because it makes it look far more tangible than the usual animated film.
- Emotional Resonance: The last thing can be considered as a main drawback, although the author does present many of the realities of grief and loneliness, with occasional comedic relief.
- Strong Voice Cast: In the last few days, the acting of Sarah Snook in the film was praised especially for the role of Grace, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and, of course, Eric Bana.
Negatives:
- Pacing Issues: It is however worth noting that some segments have been observed to be rather slow and possibly this has an impact on the engagement levels.
- Predictable Elements: However, when touching the ground some of the issues can be quite traditional and clichéd for the given genre.
- Character Development: Peculiar more characters might have been developed in order to provide a deeper probe in the light of their portraying influence.
Technical Aspects:
I consider technical features that were applied to the book worthy meaning that they played a major role in the development of the story. The movie’s art direction is colorful and touching making this yet another animated excitement the eyes can feast on.
Key Technical Features:
- Cinematography: The work by cinematographer Adam Elliot does a particularly good job of establishing both close and larger emotional worlds.
- Editing: The continuity of editing in the narrative is good and could be more focused in the different spectator slower scenes.
- Music Score: The music by Daniel Pemberton does not drown interaction or specific scenes while adding to those specific scenes and the mood of the film.
Performance:
It has a great cast with Sarah Snook as Grace Pudel as the lead character in the movie Bo Burnham’s film. I like the way she sings and emotes for her character; especially when portraying the tough time of her character. Kodi Smit-McPhee is pretty good as Gilbert, feeling its discomfort in its skin and its desperation for companionship.
Notable Performances:
- Sarah Snook as Grace Pudel: Snook successfully delivers Grace’s defenselessness and strength throughout the five stages.
- Kodi Smit-McPhee as Gilbert Pudel: Smit-McPhee builds on the painting to make Gilbert a more complete character, in full showing his tribulations and endeavors to find his sister that has been kidnapped.
- Eric Bana as Percy Pudel: As for the character Bana does well to introduce the warmth and some complexity to the portrayal of Grace’s father and the dynamics of their family.
- Jacki Weaver as Pinky: Weaver’s portrayal brings cuteness and some sort of compass to Pinky as a person, the behavioral model for Grace.
Moviepoptime Review:
In general, Memoir of a Snail has been well received by audiences who enjoy character studies that take a closer look inside and are told from the point of view of a snail. Most have depicted it as an abstract mural about life with reviewers noting it as a sure-directed way to get the audience into a state of reflecting on life which is hard to come by in most of the movies. The tale unfolds this theme through the protagonist, Mara the snail and so many people leave the theatre having been affected by quite deep emotions brought by the trials of life of a snail.
On the Italian level, it is arguably the best-looking film of the year, with many praising the artists on the painterly nature of the cinematography and the delicate color scheme that lends pretty much everything an eerie fairy-tale-like sheen. The music fits into this image with a tender, atmospheric score which fills the movie with atmosphere but never overshadows the story. In as much as some of them complained of slow pacing, others viewed it as a perfect tempo that made them relate fully with the snail’s pace and find meaning in their bored lives.
Therefore, based on the received reservation of Memoir of a Snail formed a positive image of the film, which is most popular among lovers of art-house films that help to reflect and think about something. It is a kind of movie that appeals to the audience who does not get entertained by the high octaves and loves to take a bit of pause and remember the simple beauty of life and even calmness.
Conclusion:
All in all, the “Memoir of a Snail” project can be regarded as a perfect animated film that shares a touching coming-of-age story, loneliness, and obsession, all depicted in the delicious, tasteful graphic. Possesses something original in terms of the animation, which together with the smart acting of Sarah Snook and Kodi Smit-McPhee, as well as a good technical backdrop under the direction of Adam Elliot, speaks about the identification of such pictures with audiences who look for deep narratives.
Of course, like any other series, the pacing at first is a bit slow, and it follows some cliches in terms of narrative structure regarding its stories and characters; but, if we just followed the most famous love stories in books and our lives, we wouldn’t be able to learn anything new, right? Preparing its global premiere on October 25, 2024, Memoir of a Snail expects to engage its viewers as well as inspire them to ponder certain values set by the story and about identity within the frame of enormous opposition.
Reflective of its title, “Memoir of a Snail” is a quirky and slightly dark-hearted look into a universe where becoming truer to oneself is not infrequently preceded by a great deal of hardship.
Also Read: Magpie Movie Review