The passage of life only sometimes goes according to plan. No one knows where the journey will take them or the obstacles they will face.
In Memoir of a Snail, Adam Elliot poignantly explores the hardships of life and how they can trap us into believing life isn’t worth living anymore. Many devastating moments in one’s life can shape one into the person they become. There could be unresolved trauma, but they still find some silver lining.
Elliot uses stop-motion animation to create portraits of one’s life. Grace Pudel (Sarah Snook) relives the bittersweet moments of her life that deeply affect her. It’s a melancholy tale of love, loss, and rebirth. When we meet Grace, she’s reflecting on the loss of her dear friend Pinky (Jacki Weaver).
The film begins with life-like objects cluttering the screen. Then Elliot transitions the images to the inside of Pinky’s mouth as she gives her final breath. The beauty of animation lies in the imagination and the ability to tie in powerful imagery. Elliot seamlessly tied stunning tableaux pieces while Grace narrated her life story.
To begin the film with the great loss of a friend, Grace reflects on the many moments she felt lost in the world. She had to grow up faster than other children alongside her twin brother Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee) while looking after their father. Not only did they experience loss when he inevitably passed away, but they also felt the absence of a parental figure altogether.
There’s a hopefulness when Grace remembers her childhood because of her connection with her brother. She truly believed that she and Gilbert could conquer anything. That is until child services split them up and have two families adopt them. Elliott shows the contrast between both sets with adult themes that affect the lives of his characters.
Grace lives with absent parents and finds solace in collecting her pet snails. She uses them to make her own family. The hoarding begins because of the loss of community, and she hides behind the comfort of her possessions. The objects and insects that make her happy and whole. Once she meets Pinky, her perspective changes because she meets someone unapologetically herself.
We find out what has happened to Gilbert through his letters to Grace. Elliott balanced the narration between Gilbert and Grace to connect their characters and ground their struggle. Gilbert was adopted by a Christian family who had put him to work on their farm. Their Christian values were extreme, and they wanted to keep the devil away from their children. Since Gilbert was a new addition, they treated him even worse than the rest of their kids.
Apart from the beautiful animation and harrowing moments painted in the reflection of Grace’s memories, the dialogue was inspired. Elliot wrote thought-provoking passages and incorporated impactful questions about life that everyone had asked themselves at one point. The twins' journey was emotional because of their separation and survival, but Gilbert’s story was more effective than Grace’s.
The way the third act unfolded was troubling because of Grace’s relationship with an older gentleman. To see that this man had made her revert into her shell even further was devastating and a bit too much for a character who has already been through so much turmoil. The final spiral of depression and anxiousness from Grace after what she discovers about her marriage pushes her to the edge, and she is trapped in her pain.
Even though it feels like Elliot pushed Grace a bit far, the ending is still quite hopeful. Elliot gives Grace a rebirth when contemplating what to do with her life, even though she has lost so many people.
Memoir of a Snail may be perceived as bleak because of what the characters endure, but the way the film ends gives audiences the sunny reassurance that everyone must shed their past and learn from it to grow.
3.5/5
Review by: Amanda Guarragi
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