Film on the Radar: Adam Elliott's 'Mary and Max'

Mary and Max is a 92-minute clay animation film that opened the 2009 Sundance Festival. Adam Elliot’s film tells the story of a young Australian girl named Mary who begins a pen pal relationship with 44-year old overweight anxiety-ridden New York City resident named Max. Personal stories always have a strong tendency to pull at my heart strings; throw in topics like friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity, kleptomania, trust, copulating dogs, sexual and religious differences, agoraphobia and you've now captured my complete attention.

Mary and Max are voiced by Toni Collette ad Philip Seymour Hoffman, two talented actors that make these clay figures come to life. Based on the snippet of video we get to see, Mary and Max looks like one dark and disturbing film we hope makes it to our local theater.

Based on initial reviews, we're sure it will.