Memoir of a Snail

"Memoir of a Snail" is an animated stop-motion film and it's not for kids. This is about as black a comedy as you will find and I enjoyed every minute of it. I even laughed out loud - a rare thing for me. What's it all about? It's a life reflected back upon by Grace Pudel (voiced by Sarah Snook, who you might know as the spicy ginger, Shiv Roy from HBO's "Succession"). Grace has a hoarding problem, all things snails. She even wears a snail hat, with two little snail-like antennae eyeballs. Grace recounts her life, narrating from birth with her twin brother. Grace was born with a cleft lip and this film embraces all things messy and strange and in some odd ways, normalizes them, which is the charm of the film and its beauty. This is a warts-and-all story of mental illness, sexual fetishes, an unflattering look at religion, dementia, and hoarding, however done with such love and silliness, these things don't feel so heavy. Grace meets Pinky (Jacki Weaver) an exuberant and quirky older woman who reminded me of a cross between Mrs. Roper and Maude (from "Harold and Maude"). Pinky smokes Cuban cigars and loves gardening and life. Pinky is a free spirit and this is exactly what Grace needed in her life. The details in this film are simply a joy. Pay attention to all the reading material - so much fun. "Memoir of a Snail" is anything from sluggish, it's a fun and fast ride. And it's not for kids. Catch it in a rep theatre now or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff if you are in Ottawa.