Memoir of a Snail Review

October 2, 2024 at 8:57pm
By Jason Stettner

I’d consider this depression quest the movie as it’s truly one melancholic journey. The story follows Grace Pudel (Sarah Snook) who’s life begins rather miserable and only continues to get worse as things go along. Every single sorrowing thing you could think of happens.

Set against the backdrop of a smaller town in Australia you get to see how one woman survives over the years despite ever so many emotional hurdles. It’s done in a quirky, funny sort of way but it’s also rather dreary the whole way through. It’s essentially the building of one’s shell through hardships and how that can impact one’s life.

Whether an individual will be able to handle that aspect or how various factors may impact how someone hides further within themselves as the pressures build. That sounds like a lot, but it’s very much the journey of Pudel as she snakes deeper into a shell that she builds to deal with the ever growing trauma from her life.

This is presented in claymation and it’s just beautiful. The level of detail in each scene is insanely impressive. The movement of characters is natural, fun and generally realistic which helps depict the journey in a believable way. It’s a very adult movie in terms of the material and the humor.

The blatant, but also semi hidden elements of that humor was also done very masterfully. I was truly blown away by the presentation here. From the excellent voice performances to the way scenes handled the heavy material at play. It was a winding tale that kept you guessing and ever so charming at the same time.

You really felt for the main character while still having a joke here or there so it never felt too bleak. I particularly loved the weird moments with guinea pigs or the straight up wild array of snails at play which factor into the greater story that was present here.

The Conclusion

Memoir of a Snail is an incredible claymation effort filled to the brim with detail and emotional levity backed by an excellent lead voice performance. The situations are grim from this life, but there was always something to keep you from feeling as though the material got too bleak. It all comes together rather nicely and this was a standout movie.

I think they nailed this one and if you can handle the scenarios that come out across the film I think you’ll really cherish the experience. I was shocked by how well this was put together and how everything came together to create an impactful feeling. It really was depressing yet at the same time there was enough here to make you leave with a warm feeling. Excellent film.

Memoir of a Snail Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Calgary Film

Rating Overall: 9.4