MEMOIR OF A SNAIL
Starring: Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jacki Weaver, and Eric Bana
Director: Adam Elliot
ADRIANO
While it doesn't reach the highs of his last film, Mary and Max, writer/director Adam Elliot hits another very special note with Memoir of a Snail. With its unique stop-motion animation and pitch-perfect, darkly comedic tone, this film hits you with tragedy after tragedy, but always in an organic and funny way. This ultimately leads to a powerful ending that left me a teary mess. Despite how dour the film can get, the movie is anything but hopeless, choosing to put one foot in front of the other in the face of tragedy. Memoir of a Snail is a profoundly beautiful experience.
KATIE
Memoir of a Snail is instantly one of my favourite animated films of the year, with its creative and distinctive stop-motion style, crude and often outrageous humour, and life-affirming message. Plus, despite all the sex and swearing, it’s the most wholesome, rewarding film of LFF. It’s also an intelligent film, exploring the darkest moments of the character’s lives whilst advocating for a forward-thinking approach to tragedy and celebrating progress in the face of adversity. The voice cast is also very endearing, especially Sarah Snook as the protagonist Grace and Jacki Weaver as Pinky.
QUENTIN
I have a tremendous amount of respect for stop-motion animation, and on a technical level, it will always impress me because of the painstaking meticulousness it requires. However, that doesn’t mean all stop-motion movies are good. Memoir of a Snail fails to adhere to the adage of “show, don’t tell,” with its story told almost entirely through narration instead of dialogue, resulting in a vibe more akin to listening to an audiobook than watching a film. In fact, you could ignore the visual aspects and not lose much, which makes for a heartbreakingly heavy and unengaging experience that seems a waste of terrific animator effort.
AMARÚ
Memoir of a Snail could’ve easily fallen into a trap of sluggishly reading out a life story, but there’s so many weird and quirky turns in the main character Grace’s (Sarah Snook) life, that I excitedly tuned into each progressively shocking and entertaining chapter. The film’s hilariously honest embrace of life’s peculiarities is expertly explored through a forceful resilience that’s both sweet and powerful. With each piling tragedy in Grace’s story, the film constantly follows its own advice of moving “onward, upward, and sidewards”, leaving your heart utterly fulfilled with its cheer-worthy ending.
PRESTON
The ending of Memoir of a Snail brings this film a long way. I appreciate the final message, but the journey to get there is fraught with misery and melancholy that showers over you like a water-boarding session. If I wasn’t encouraged by pre-viewing reviews, I might not have made it to the mostly satisfying conclusion. There are some moments of dark levity, but the overwhelming insistence on its trauma-forward narrative reinforces a barrier to any emotional connection. My most cynical self sees its impressive and taxing stop-motion format as nothing more than a means to the awards stage.
NICK
Those who dismiss animated features as "just children's films" often miss great content, and Memoir of a Snail is just the latest example of that. This tragic story is as grown-up as they come as it touches on some incredibly dark themes, including death, abandonment, and loneliness. There's a lot of pain here, and the gloomy aesthetics only enhance that feeling. Even the somewhat off-putting animation fits with the story being told. I can definitely see this film being a little too depressing for some (it can go a little overboard in that sense), but its ultimate message is pure and worth the somber journey.
