‘Memoir Of A Snail’ Review – A Remarkable Claymation Filled With Emotions, Nuances & Sarah Snook’s Excellent Performance [LFF 2024]

You probably think of easy-to-follow storylines (mainly aimed at kids), joyful jingles, and bright colours when thinking about animation. That mix of elements has done the financial trick for many years. However, with his Memoir of a Snail, writer/director Adam Elliot (Mary and Max) now shows us that animation can still be gripping, touching, and a remarkable success even if it’s darker, more grown up, profound, and frankly also dirtier than the animations we all know and love.

Don’t expect joy, happiness, or love to welcome you into the world of Grace Pudel. While you hear the joyful, soulful, graceful, and uplifting voice of Succession’s Sarah Snook – who narrates this movie so wonderfully and mesmerizingly as Grace – the feature starts in a much grimmer way. Set against the backdrop of a small Australian town, the movie opens with Grace, who just had to say goodbye to her best friend, Pinky (voiced by Jacki Weaver). She finds herself alone with only a few snails (real and fake) beside her. It’s a predisposition she has found herself in almost her entire life.

Born prematurely and with a cleft lip, Grace never really knew her mother and father, as the first one died during childbirth, and the latter found the solution to his problems at the bottom of a bottle. Luckily for this snail-loving woman with a heart of gold, she has her twin brother Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee) by her side. They have a great time living together, reading adult literature (including Sylvia Plath and Lord of the Flies), and strengthening their bond.

However, that is until both twins find themselves orphans and are placed in two different foster families. Gilbert is being sent to a hyper-religious family who wants to reform the young man. They think he’s clearly possessed by the devil because of his love for fire and magic. While most of the story revolves around Grace – placed with a couple of swingers (no, this isn’t a typo) and who sadly falls in love with the wrong guy – we also see a fair amount of Gilbert after his separation from her. His presence certainly adds a mysterious and darker element to this feature because he has some secrets and shines an even brighter spotlight on the unbreakable bond between brother and sister.

Their vow to find each other as soon as possible is the emotional driving force behind this feature. You’ll find yourself rooting for Grace and Gilbert and their reunion. Like each stunning frame in this feature, their character arcs are meticulously crafted and play on your heartstrings. Before the movie becomes too bleak, dark, or melancholic, Elliot shows you that there’s still hope, light, love, and joy de vivre (everyone needs a Pinky in their life). The filmmaker perfectly balances comedy and tragedy, light and darkness, and love and abuse.

Elliot’s genuine and down-to-earth script is filled with different important topics (death, life, being bullied, standing up for what you believe in, etc.), life lessons, and ideas, some of which will hit home hard. Especially if you’ve lost someone or find yourself questioning your existence. The emotionally intelligent script conveys many emotions, crucial wisdom, and heartwarming moments. The film also reminds us of the immense power of a sweet gesture from a stranger, a tight embrace from a friend, or a kiss from a potential lover.

While that grown-up script is certainly perfectly crafted, the animation isn’t. It is clear that the filmmaker wanted to focus on something other (in this case, a mature story) than creating a glamorously aesthetic feature. Neither the twins nor their surroundings are perfectly rounded and ecstatically eye-opening. However, their rough and ready aspect is actually a blessing for this feature. It shows us all the manpower that went into their creation (as there’s no GCI in this movie) and that no one is perfect. We’ve all been through the hardship of life, leaving us in pieces, but just like Grace, we put ourselves back together.

Memoir of a Snail certainly isn’t your uplifting and happy-go-lucky feature. No, it’s a dark and grim animation, and there’s no way around it. Throughout its 94-minute runtime, you feel Grace’s pain, trauma and despair. However, you also witness how she gets up every time she falls and how a glimmer of hope of a reunion with her brother still exists in her heart, no matter how difficult the circumstances. This incredible claymation is filled to the brim with emotions, details and Snook’s excellent lead performance. This results in Memoir of a Snail becoming much more impactful than you would have expected.

Memoir of a Snail was screened as a part of the BFI London Film Festival 2024. The film will have a limited U.S. release from the 25th of October, followed by a wider release in November courtesy of IFC Films.

Director: Adam Elliot

Writer: Adam Elliot

Rated: R

Runtime: 94m