‘Anomalisa’ is for those who like filmmaking with side of homework

How was it? My wife asked me after I watched the latest effort from writer/director Charlie Kaufman.

“I’m not sure,” I responded, head spinning.

That was two weeks ago.

I have since been pondering just what I had felt about the film, which was certainly something I know was more than my tiny brain was grasping when I first witnessed the film. I say this only because Kaufman, the deep-thinking writer/director of such brain-tickling flicks such as “Being John Malkovich,” “Adaptation,” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” works in a way that appears deceptively simple, but also one that would richly reward me the further I dug.

I fully understand the average film-goer may not want to work that hard for his/her overall experience, and I can state without reservation that if you like your puppets with more anthropomorphized animals made of felt (and less existential angst), just stick to the new “Muppet Show.”

“Anomalisa” is like nothing you’ve experienced in film before, which in and of itself is a minor accomplishment in the been-there-destroyed-that big box-office offerings of today. It starts out rather straightforward: Michael Stone (voiced by David Thewlis) is a public speaker who arrives at a hotel in Cincinnati to present to a group of telephone customer-support staffers on the heels of his best-selling book.

He encounters a number of chatty people along the way - on the plane, in the cab, at the hotel. He uses his stay as an opportunity to reconnect with an old girlfriend, which goes awkwardly downhill, and sends him retreating back to his hotel room for the night. On the way back, he meets two women - Emily and Lisa - who are in town to specifically for his talk. Emily appears to be the more conventionally attractive one, but there is something about Lisa that literally speaks to Michael, and to us too.

You see, throughout the film, all the other voices for each character are provided by Tom Noonan (men, women and children, all of whom have the same complacent drone-speak of Noonan’s delivery). But Lisa is voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh, and despite her imperfections (she styles her hair to hide a facial scar), her voice draws him in.

This is the point at which to reveal any more of the tale would perhaps lead to spoiling the factors that make “Anomalisa” so intriguing. The only thing that I will state is that as a writer, Charlie Kaufman seems fascinated by the human mind and all its eccentricities, and to fully appreciate the narrative of “Anomalisa” one should become familiar with a particular mental condition called “al fregoli” or “Fregoli delusion.” Trust me, knowledge of this will only enhance your appreciation of this film.

“Anomalisa” takes its time - it’s at least 40 minutes of intentional drudgery meant to represent Michael’s somnambulistic approach to life, and then starts to ramp up (though its noted “puppet sex scene” is more tender than one might imagine). And it’s tough to follow an antagonist as thoroughly self-loathing as Michael (he all but ignores his wife and child), yet Kaufman obviously still has some odd affection for him.

Despite those obstacles, “Anomalisa” is a film that will yield rewards for those who like their filmmaking with a side of homework and who wish to be challenged and witness a truly innovative auteur at work. The film is as flawed as its protagonist, but it seems as though that might be the point Kaufman is conveying, as he is certainly a director who creates cinema that is easily digestible.