Let’s say, without saying more, that your week hasn’t gone as you’d hoped and that you wouldn’t describe yourself as feeling incredibly optimistic at the moment.
You may find a kindred spirit in Grace Pudel.
The snail-collecting and snail hat-wearing woman is the lead character in “Memoir of a Snail,” the largely enjoyable latest work from Australian writer-director Adam Elliot, who, through the time-consuming art form of stop-motion animation, traffics in tales for adults in which comedy and tragedy intersect.
Getting a wide theatrical release this week, “Memoir of a Snail” recently won the top prize in the official competition at BFI London Film Festival and the Special Jury Prize at the Animation Is Film Festival in Hollywood.
When you understand the amount of work that goes into them, stop-motion films almost always astound visually. “Memoir of a Snail,” boasting a rich palette and creatively designed characters, is no exception.
Some fun facts courtesy of the film’s production notes:
— a team of artists spent almost a year making the roughly 7,000 objects needed for the tale
— animators burned thousands of hours over the course of a 33-week shoot to move each character one frame at at time
— 135,000 photographs were taken
— no computer-generated imagery was used.
Impressive as all that may be, none of it matters if “Memoir of a Snail” fails to pull you in and make you become invested in Grace. It succeeds in that critical area, but its by-the-numbers storytelling leaves something to be desired.
We meet Grace (voiced by “Succession” star Sarah Snook as an adult and Charlotte Belsey when the character is younger) at what is, if not her lowest point, one of many low points. Her only friend in the world, the aged Pinky (Jacki Weaver) breathing her last breath — after mysteriously exclaiming “Potatoes!”
Then, Grace frees her favorite snail, Sylvia, recounting her life story to the small creature, as it likely won’t be out of earshot any time soon.
Through the running flashback that accounts for most of the film, we learn Grace was born with a twin brother, Gilbert (voiced as a boy by Mason Litsos and later by Kodi Smit-McPhee), and theirs was the closest of relationships.
She developed a number of conditions, requiring many trips to the hospital; at one point, when she needed a transfusion of blood, he volunteered even while under the belief it would kill him.
Their mother dead, the kids were raised by their father, Percy (Dominique Pinon), who, following an accident caused by a drunk driver, becomes a paraplegic and, eventually, an alcoholic himself. We are all but certain he will die at some point in Grace’s story and that, even more crushingly, she will lose Gilbert, as well.
Left largely to her own devices, Grace becomes a hoarder and then a kleptomaniac.
She is very lonely and longing for physical contact with a man. Enter microwave repairman Ken (Tony Armstrong), who seems to love her exactly how she is, imperfections and all.
And then there’s Pinky, who makes time to hold the hands of older, desperately lonely folks and becomes a mother figure to Grace.
There are more ups — Grace tries to find silver linings in life’s less-than-lovely moments — and, certainly, downs to come for Grace, but that gives you an idea of the shape of things in “Memoir of a Snail.”
Along with Snook, Smit-McPhee (“ParaNorman”) and Weaver (“Silver Linings Playbook”), the film boasts voice work from a couple of other notable Aussies, actor Eric Bana and musician Nick Cave.
The film is the second feature from Elliot, following 2009’s critically acclaimed “Mary and Max,” and the seventh part of his “Trilogy of Trilogies” — three short shorts, three long shorts and three features.
Admittedly, we’re unfamiliar with his other work — which includes the Academy Award-winning 2003 short “Harvie Krumpet” and is all said to be inspired by his family and friends — but we’ll be following this artist moving forward.
With the somber-quirky “Memoir of a Snail,” he explores themes including loneliness, grief and sadness, as well as love, hope and taking better care of yourself, and he does it in a distinct way.
Again, for some of you, it may prove to be just the right cocktail — if you don’t need something stronger — this week.
‘Memoir of a Snail’
Where: Theaters.
When: Nov. 8.
Rated: R for sexual content, nudity and some violent content.
Runtime: 1 hour, 34 minutes.
Stars (of four): 3.
