Welcome back again for our second Letterboxd Lists review of the year! This week we take a look at the Letterboxd’s Top 100 Animated Films and a nominee for Best Animated Feature. Sitting currently at #46 on the list…Memoir of a Snail (2024).
Title: Memoir of a Snail
Director: Adam Elliot
Released: June 10, 2024 (France – Annecy International Animation Film Festival)
Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes
Available to stream on: Sundance Now
Grace (voiced by Sarah Snook) and Gilbert (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee) are twins who have known heartache and struggle from the moment they entered this world. Not only were they born premature but their mother passed away while giving birth to them. If that wasn’t enough, Grace was born with a “floppy lip”, struggled with asthma, and was a bit of a runt. This unfortunate trifecta led to relentless harassment and bullying at school. Luckily for her though, Gilbert was her protector. He was always there to stand up for her, even if it meant taking a beating of his own.
Their father, a former stop-motion animator now a paraplegic, suffered from sleep apnea. Usually, the twins would start clapping and their father would wake up. One day, they clapped, but he didn’t wake up, turning Gilbert and Grace’s lives completely upside down. Now orphans, Child Services took them into custody and sent them to live with separate families.
Grace found herself with a couple who were far more into the swinger lifestyle than looking after a child. Seeing as her new “parents” were never around, Grace creates her own family with clay snail figurines. These snails become her companions and in the world she’s created with them, Grace is able to find a sense of comfort. However, to an outsider, it’s obvious that Grace has put up walls and become a sort of recluse in a shell of her own making.
Meanwhile, Gilbert wound up with a family of cult-like Christian extremists who run an apple farm. They require that he speak in tongues and eat meat just like their other children. Gilbert draws the line with shaving his head though. He works, against his will, on the farm, slapping stickers onto each apple as it rolls down the assembly line. His work earns him mere pennies. Pennies the family snatches back, forcing him to surrender them to the family church in the name of God.
Despite both siblings being on opposite sides of the country, they write each other religiously (no pun intended). With every letter, Gilbert vows to save up enough money, return across Australia, and rescue Grace. While Gilbert realizes the chances of that happening are rather slim, he continues to say it to bring comfort to Grace.
Grace finds hope not only in the thought of reuniting with her brother but also in an older woman named Pinky (voiced by Jacki Weaver). Pinky tells Grace about the wild life she has lived and how she has no intention of slowing down. In her own way, Pinky tries to get Grace to see that life has too much to offer to stay cooped up in one’s own shell.
Time will tell if Gilbert and Grace can be reunited and whether or not Grace is able to live in a world outside of her own making. However, one thing is for certain, no matter what…
Life can only be understood backwards, but we have to live it forwards.
No burying the lede here, I loved this film and would encourage anyone who hasn’t seen it to remedy that as soon as possible.
There’s so much more that takes place in the story of Grace and Gilbert that I didn’t even touch on above. Hats off to Adam Elliot, to take such a layered, yet grounded, story and decide to use stop-motion animation as the vessel was a bold choice. But it was a choice that paid dividends.
Admittedly, I have not yet seen his other stop-motion feature, Mary and Max. So, while I can’t compare the two, I will say that the way he was able to tap into emotions simply by using shadows, wrinkles and colors was incredibly impressive.
Usually when you have animation that carries an R-rating (or TV-MA), it’s going to be one that has that rating because of crude humor. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, crude humor has its time and place. However, it was incredibly refreshing to see an R-rated animated film that wasn’t afraid to be dark and bleak. There wasn’t a focus on wrapping everything up in a nice bow by the end, rather it was an honest look at how life can be.
No matter how shitty of a hand life might deal you, there’s positive out there.
Sometimes we just have to peek out from our self-constructed shells to find it.
Well, now it’s your turn.
If you’ve seen Memoirs of a Snail (2024), I want to hear from you.
Did you happen to love it as well?
Was there something that just didn’t work for you?
Do you feel it’s worthy of its Academy Award nomination?
Tell me all about it in the comments below or by reaching out to me over on Bluesky!
And as always, if you’re curious to see what else I’ve been watching lately, give me a follow over on Letterboxd.