Member review

The Story

The Story is about two pen pals from two different continents.

The Story is very interesting, especially with the aspect of life with Aspergers. It is definitely more of an experience than a traditional film that you would watch beginning to end, but for what it is, it's great.

And the films humour is fantastic. I am a sucker for black comedy, and this film knows how to hit the nail on the coffin perfectly.

But I do have a couple of problems with it. One, the film was too short. To be more precise, the time skips were too large and we didn't see any letters of the two throughout that timespan, which could of given us more insight to the characters. If the film was, let's say... 3.5 hours long, we could of had a much more in-depth experience (like we did with Seven Samurai).

The other issue I have with the film is the ending. It is just a total cop-out. It's like they couldn't decide how to end the film, so they gave the film a very minimal ending that tied up all the basic loose ends in a very unsatisfactory way.

The Characters

At first, some people may be turned off by this film because of the theme of a younger girl messaging an older man. And yes, even my parents and I couldn't stop making jokes at the beginning of the film, but once you see the aspects of there relationship (since Mary is mature for her age, while Max is more innocent that most) it really turns into a sweet friendship which even the most concerning viewers would love.

I also love the portrayal of Autism this film has. Unlike many films dealing with Autism, Max isn't portrayed as a stupid, innocent, savant which I HATE with a burning passion!

This film clearly knows what Aspergers in everyday life struggle with, but without resorting to making the character "overly gifted". (We aren't ALL like Temple Grandin! You Know!)

The rest of the characters are alright, but other than the mother, we don't learn much about Mary's relationship with the other characters (other than the bare minimum), which could of made the film a lot better.

The Animation/Special Effects

The Animation for this film is really good, I just love how in Australia, everything's colourful, while New York is more dark and bleak with just black and grey tones to the colour.

The characters designs are unique. But it may turn off some viewers since some of the characters BARELY look like people and more like clay blobs! Also, the frame rate does dip now and again for no reason sometimes, but unless you analyse films as much as I do, you'll barely if not notice it.

Final Thoughts

This film is SO close to being considered a masterpiece! So close! It definitely portrays Asperger and Autism without falling into the cliché stereotypes. But the flaws this film has stops it from reaching its full potential. It is DEFINITELY a great film. Even my parents (who are not a fan of indie films) enjoyed it. So I see it as a great entry to indie films. It is definitely a borderline masterpiece!

The Story 4.5/5

The Characters 3.5/5

The Animation/Special Effects 4.5/5

Overall 4/5