CLIENT
Datek Online.
PRODUCTION CO.
HSI Productions, bicoastal, and Gerard de Thame Films, London. Gerard de Thame, director; Mick Coulter, DP; Bill Sandwick, executive producer; Fabyan Daw, producer. Shot at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, England.
AGENCY
Bozell New York. Brent Bouchez, executive creative director; Wendy Newman, art director; Marc Guttesman, copywriter; Andrew Chinich, executive director of broadcast production; Susan Macy,
producer.
EDITORIAL
The Mill, London.
Matt Wood, editor.
POST/ VISUAL EFFECTS
The Mill. Barnsley and
Phil Crowe, Flame artists; Adam Scott, colorist;
Sally Heath, producer.
AUDIO POST
Wave, London. Johnnie Burn, mixer/engineer.
MUSIC/SOUND DESIGN
Water Music, London.
Peter Lawlor, composer/
sound designer.
Review: Writer-Director Adam Elliot’s “Memoir of a Snail”
It's not your typical stop-motion film when characters name pets after Sylvia Plath and read "The Diary of Anne Frank" — or when the story's inspired by a quote from existentialist thinker Søren Kierkegaard. And it's certainly not your typical stop-motion film when you find yourself crying as much as the characters do — in their case, with huge droplets leaking from bulging, egg-shaped eyes so authentic-looking, you expect the screen to get wet. But those are just a few of the unique things about Adam Elliot's "Memoir of a Snail," a film that's as heart-tugging as it is technically impressive, a work of both emotional resonance and great physical detail using only clay, wire, paper and paint. One thing Elliot's film is not, though, is for kids. So please take note before heading to the multiplex with family in tow: this film earns its R rating, as you'll discover as soon as young Grace, voiced by Sarah Snook, tells us she thought masturbation was about chewing your food properly. Sex, nudity, drunk driving, a fat fetish — like we said, it's R-rated for a reason. But let's start at the beginning. In this, his seventh "clayography" (for "clay" and "biography"), the Australian writer-director explores the process of collecting unnecessary objects. Otherwise known as hoarding, it's something that weighs us down in ways we can't see, for all the clutter. Elliot also argues that it helps us build constrictive shells around ourselves — like snail shells, perhaps. Our protagonist is Grace Pudel, voiced with a quirky warmth and plenty of empathy by the wonderfully agile Snook. We first encounter Grace as a grown woman, telling her long, lonely life story to her pet garden snail, Sylvia (named after Plath), at a moment of deep sadness. Then we flash... Read More