In Charlie Kaufman's second film, "Anomalisa," Michael Stone, a businessman and noted author, travels to Cincinnati to give a speech at a conference. In the speech, Michael explains his secret to good customer service: "Look for what is special about each individual, focus on that." But the events that take place around Michael's speech make us ponder more deeply about individuality and whether it even exists. How do we perceive individuality? Why do we fall in love with "extraordinary people" but then waiver in our feelings? In a familiar Kaufman theme, we are forced to confront the loneliness created by our emotional whims and the ultimate failure to connect (or reconnect) with others. And did I mention that the entire film, which plumbs the depths of the human condition, is inhabited by stop motion animation puppets?
The use of puppets is an interesting choice for Kaufman but not totally unprecedented. In "Being John Malkovich," Kaufman posed questions about identity and the desire to control others as puppets in order to satisfy our desires. And control is exactly why Kaufman chose to use puppets; his thematic vision demanded it. Michael inhabits a mundane world in which everyone is insufferably the same. In his view, though they wear different accouterments, every person literally and figuratively shares the same face and voice (all the voices in the film, save two, are played my one man). As Michael lands in Cincinnati, he is haunted by a romantic break-up that occured ten years ago. He checks into a hotel named The Fregoli, which turns out to be one of Kaufman's psychiatric jokes. The Fregoli Delusion is the name of a psychiatric condition in which sufferers believe that all the people around them are really incarnations of just one person, who is tormenting them. While the one person tormenting him seems to be an ex-girlfriend, she is really an emblem of Michael's relationship failures and difficulties achieving lasting intimacy. The one person tormenting Michael is *drum roll* Michael.
Michael is a mopey fellow, a character trait that is noticeable in his posture and countenance. Much of the movie relies on facial expression and small movements, a challenge admirably met by the puppeteers. The facial features and movements are so good, in fact, that "Anomalisa" could easily have worked as a silent movie. At his hotel in Cincinnati, Michael clearly needs a connection, something he's not getting from his wife and family. He calls an ex-girlfriend named Bella and she agrees to meet with him that night. Although Bella seems uneasy about meeting the person who hurt her ten years ago, you can tell that Michael was very important to her and that his exit was extremely damaging. Upon meeting, Bella is very self-conscious and uncomfortable with revisiting her past. After Michael's plan to have a one night stand with Bella becomes apparent, she leaves disillusioned and hurt. Michael then meets two women attending the conference who idolize his business acumen. He pursues one of the women named Lisa, who exhibits a hyper self-consciousness and the self esteem of a teenager. Immediately, Michael comments on how Lisa is so different from everyone else. Physically, she differs from everyone else in the film in that she has a female voice and an individual face compared to a sea of people who look the same. When Lisa asks why he thinks that she is so extraordinary, Michael replies "I don't know yet. It's just obvious to me that you are."
While one can read "Anomalisa" as a positive and beautiful story celebrating individuality and profound connections, I think Kaufman has a more skeptical attitude. Michael's infatuation with Lisa is transient and stems from his emotional needs at the moment. In other words, Kaufman is suggesting that we may be attracted to certain people at certain times under very particular circumstances. There is not one person meant for us because circumstances change. Would Michael have found Lisa so "extraordinary" if he were not so unhappy in his marriage or recently rejected by an ex-flame an hour prior? "Individuality" may be a perception of others instead of inherently existing. Maybe we are all the same until the right circumstances align and fulfill the passing needs of two people.
Michael's attraction to Lisa owes to the fact that she is obtainable because of her low self esteem. Could Michael be rationalizing, even mythologizing his pursuit of an easy target by fooling himself that he has met his soulmate? Remember that Michael had a similar situation with Bella: he loved her but then left abruptly. Lisa and Bella are very similar in that they both lack confidence and fell for Michael's wild promises and overblown emotions. In a way, Michael is trying to re-find past love in his pursuit of Lisa. He wants a brand new yet familiar woman. Michael finally confronts his selfish rationalizations in a dream in which the hotel attempts to provide him with the ultimate "customer service" by hooking him up with employees who idolize his work and want to sleep with him. After all, wasn't it the hotel and Michael's book that brought he and Lisa together?
In the end, "Anomalisa" is not about love or soulmates; it's about the intoxicating emotion of meeting someone new and sharing a passing moment of passion and infatuation. It's about a short lived connection in which, as Michael says, you feel as if you are "the only two people in the world." In reality, Michael's fling with Lisa is more about his own selfishness and exhilaration, a fantasy to escape his everyday boredom. For Kaufman, those small moments are among the only true episodes of happiness that a person can feel because of its all encompassing, irrational nature. That's why Michael immediately fears that the world will conspire to separate he and Lisa.
Eventually, Michael experiences a withdrawal from transient bliss. He begins noticing all of Lisa's imperfections until she gradually becomes like everyone else and returns to the sea of faces. We get the feeling that all of Michael's past loves, including his wife, were once different too, but have sense regressed in his mind to ordinary. Still, as Michael returns home to his humdrum family life and Lisa copes with being used for a one night stand, both reflect that the rejuvenating experience was well-worth the sorrow because it was special and brilliant for a moment. Echoing Kaufman's themes in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," life experience, whether it causes sadness, joy or both, is the meaning of existence because it what makes us who we are, even for a moment.
Michael is a mopey fellow, a character trait that is noticeable in his posture and countenance. Much of the movie relies on facial expression and small movements, a challenge admirably met by the puppeteers. The facial features and movements are so good, in fact, that "Anomalisa" could easily have worked as a silent movie. At his hotel in Cincinnati, Michael clearly needs a connection, something he's not getting from his wife and family. He calls an ex-girlfriend named Bella and she agrees to meet with him that night. Although Bella seems uneasy about meeting the person who hurt her ten years ago, you can tell that Michael was very important to her and that his exit was extremely damaging. Upon meeting, Bella is very self-conscious and uncomfortable with revisiting her past. After Michael's plan to have a one night stand with Bella becomes apparent, she leaves disillusioned and hurt. Michael then meets two women attending the conference who idolize his business acumen. He pursues one of the women named Lisa, who exhibits a hyper self-consciousness and the self esteem of a teenager. Immediately, Michael comments on how Lisa is so different from everyone else. Physically, she differs from everyone else in the film in that she has a female voice and an individual face compared to a sea of people who look the same. When Lisa asks why he thinks that she is so extraordinary, Michael replies "I don't know yet. It's just obvious to me that you are."
While one can read "Anomalisa" as a positive and beautiful story celebrating individuality and profound connections, I think Kaufman has a more skeptical attitude. Michael's infatuation with Lisa is transient and stems from his emotional needs at the moment. In other words, Kaufman is suggesting that we may be attracted to certain people at certain times under very particular circumstances. There is not one person meant for us because circumstances change. Would Michael have found Lisa so "extraordinary" if he were not so unhappy in his marriage or recently rejected by an ex-flame an hour prior? "Individuality" may be a perception of others instead of inherently existing. Maybe we are all the same until the right circumstances align and fulfill the passing needs of two people.
Michael's attraction to Lisa owes to the fact that she is obtainable because of her low self esteem. Could Michael be rationalizing, even mythologizing his pursuit of an easy target by fooling himself that he has met his soulmate? Remember that Michael had a similar situation with Bella: he loved her but then left abruptly. Lisa and Bella are very similar in that they both lack confidence and fell for Michael's wild promises and overblown emotions. In a way, Michael is trying to re-find past love in his pursuit of Lisa. He wants a brand new yet familiar woman. Michael finally confronts his selfish rationalizations in a dream in which the hotel attempts to provide him with the ultimate "customer service" by hooking him up with employees who idolize his work and want to sleep with him. After all, wasn't it the hotel and Michael's book that brought he and Lisa together?
In the end, "Anomalisa" is not about love or soulmates; it's about the intoxicating emotion of meeting someone new and sharing a passing moment of passion and infatuation. It's about a short lived connection in which, as Michael says, you feel as if you are "the only two people in the world." In reality, Michael's fling with Lisa is more about his own selfishness and exhilaration, a fantasy to escape his everyday boredom. For Kaufman, those small moments are among the only true episodes of happiness that a person can feel because of its all encompassing, irrational nature. That's why Michael immediately fears that the world will conspire to separate he and Lisa.
Eventually, Michael experiences a withdrawal from transient bliss. He begins noticing all of Lisa's imperfections until she gradually becomes like everyone else and returns to the sea of faces. We get the feeling that all of Michael's past loves, including his wife, were once different too, but have sense regressed in his mind to ordinary. Still, as Michael returns home to his humdrum family life and Lisa copes with being used for a one night stand, both reflect that the rejuvenating experience was well-worth the sorrow because it was special and brilliant for a moment. Echoing Kaufman's themes in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," life experience, whether it causes sadness, joy or both, is the meaning of existence because it what makes us who we are, even for a moment.
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