Mary and Max

2009 "Sometimes perfect strangers make the best friends."
8.1| 1h32m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 25 September 2009 Released
Producted By: Melodrama Pictures
Country: Australia
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.maryandmax.com/
Info

A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York.

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Director

Adam Elliot

Production Companies

Melodrama Pictures

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Mary and Max Audience Reviews

Karry Best movie of this year hands down!
Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
classicsoncall I can't say that this movie wasn't creatively done or didn't have some interesting thoughts to pursue with the principal characters. But to get there, you had to wade through such depressing topics as atheism, alcoholism, anti-Semitism, pre-teen sexual advice, self medicating one's troubles with drugs and booze, and suicide as a possible solution to life's troubles. And lest one can't figure out the film maker's liberal bias in dealing with these subjects, he throws in a slam at former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani by calling the mayor in this story 'Ridiculani'. The 'love yourself' message, which is a good one, sort of gets lost in the hodge-podge of letter writing activity between Mary and Max, and since the correspondence occurred over a span of twenty years, the thought that kept springing into my mind was why neither one of them came up with the idea to visit the other before so much time passed, and then in the end it was too late. The picture held out so much promise when Mary first wrote and voiced those words in my summary line to Max in her very first letter. Too bad it had to end as such a downer of a story.
cjs6547 Don't get me wrong, I avoid tragic movies like the plague. Nothing puts me off more than watching the ills of society in gritty detail on the silver screen. Even so, once I started watching this movie, it pulled me in like a close friend I had known for all my life, and told me to let my tears flow and be content.It's hard to explain what makes Mary and Max different from other tragedies or tragicomedies. For a start, while it is geared up visually and with a soundtrack guaranteed to generate tears, it does not milk emotions in a cheap way. The narration is delivered in simple factual sentences with some tongue-in-cheek humor. The characters are ALL complex, interesting and very human, and there is no entity that is entirely negative or a source of hate or contention. Instead, the source of the troubles of our protagonists are their own internal struggles as they stumble through life stages, trying to find happiness. I don't want to spoil what happens, because everyone should see this movie at least once. While the subject matter is definitely for adult audiences, its innocence and good will makes it a very comforting watch.
imdb-70558 This is my go to late night movie, I don't know which I like better the soundtrack or the sepia tone. It just lulls me into a state of relaxation.It is witty, sad, thoughtful and surprising. While I would not recommend it for a child, I seriously doubt the get any of the subtle 'adult' humor. I have used so many lines from this movie, Clemenza, Sonny and the gang are getting jealous!
Anssi Vartiainen A movie such as this one is a rare treat. A completely original - albeit inspired by the director's own life - movie from a first-time feature-length director that completely blows you away with its uniqueness, wit and charm. Mary and Max tells the story of its titular characters. Mary being a lonely Australian girl living with her two dysfunctional parents. One of them an alcoholic and the other a complete shut-in practically living in the backyard shed. One day Mary, on a childish whim, decides to write to a random American person. Except that the person on the other side decides to write back. He's Max, an obese forty-something man living alone in New York and suffering from crippling mental health problems.Sound creepy and depressing? Yeah, it does. And yet the thing is, this is one of the most heartwarming and sympathetic movies I've seen in my life. It's also one of the funniest. It is said that something cannot be funny without someone suffering. And boy is that true here. The film's humour is amazingly dark, drawing most of its laughs from the sheer dysfunctionality of its characters and their feeble attempts at improving their lot in life. And yet... yet it is never mean spirited. Mary and Max suffer, that much is true, but they very rarely let it get to them. And when they do, it's a genuinely sorrowful moment because at that point it's more than earned. And thus the movie is about living your life and finding happiness despite everything standing in your way. It's about individuality, about human worth, about friendship and the purpose of caring.It's also phenomenally well-made. It's stop-motion clay animation from start to finish with heavy emphasis being put on the use of colour, facial animation and stuff actually being there. And it looks gorgeous. A true testament to the strength of craftsmanship in this age of computer effects.Mary and Max is a true masterpiece. A film juggling both light and dark, examining both the best and worse qualities of human existence, all with a kind voice and a gentle laugh. A film no one's going to regret seeing.