For a movie that’s lingered in the director’s head for nigh on a decade, there’s been nary a mention of Anomalisa outside of the film’s much-lauded turn during this year’s festival circuit. Thankfully, the maiden trailer for Charlie Kaufman’s stop-motion animation has emerged today, and it poses some of life’s big questions in delicate, charming and heart-wrenching fashion.
Centering on two Average Joe’s, the drama charts the journey of Michael Stone, celebrated author, husband and father, who finds himself disillusioned with the humdrum nature of his modern life. In the hope of carving out some form of escapism, Stone elopes to the Fregoli Hotel where he crosses paths with Lisa, a beautiful woman who may or may not be the love of his life.
Indeed, Anomalisa‘s first trailer retains much of the tropes that help define Kaufman’s directing style – the sombre, thought-provoking voiceover, sharp writing and dreamy music, it’s all here. And even if the film is half as good as early reviews have stated, the director’s return at the helm may just be one of the unmissable films of 2015.
Following a recent reshuffling effort at Paramount, Kaufman’s stop-motion Anomalisa will open in theaters on December 30. In the meantime, be sure to check out our glowing review of the director’s heart-felt return to form.
Michael Stone, husband, father and respected author of “How May I Help You Help Them?” is a man crippled by the mundanity of his life. On a business trip to Cincinnati, where he’s scheduled to speak at a convention of customer service professionals, he checks into the Fregoli Hotel. There, he is amazed to discover a possible escape from his desperation in the form of an unassuming Akron baked goods sales rep, Lisa, who may or may not be the love of his life. A beautifully tender and absurdly humorous dreamscape, from the brilliant minds of Charlie Kaufman (SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK) and Duke Johnson (“Community” episode, Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas), this stop-motion animation wonder features the vocal cast of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan and David Thewlis and a stirring strings-based score by Carter Burwell.