Memoir of a Snail
Rating
Director
Adam Elliot
Screenplay
Adam Elliot
Length
1h 35m
Starring
Jacki Weaver, Sarah Snook, Eric Bana, Saxon Wright, Dominique Pinon, Selena Brennan, Adam Elliot, Paul Capsis, Davey Thompson, Braiden Asciak, Bernie Clifford, Alexander Esenarro, Nick Cave, Magda Szubanski
MPAA Rating
R
Original Preview
Review
Australian creatives have a relatively unique perspective on filmmaking that Memoir of a Snail embodies unabashedly.
The story is of a pair of kids split up after the death of their father. The narrator is Grace (voiced by Sarah Snook), a snail enthusiast. She is sent to live with a pair of swingers who are absent all the time allowing her to live her life as she sees fit. Her brother Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is sent to live at an apple orchard with a cultish religious family who threaten to destroy his uniqueness. The film explores coming of age in a world where expectations are seldom met and adherence is too often seen as more important than individuality.
Stop-motion animation lends itself well to the unusual. Laika has demonstrated that fairly well over the years and Memoir of a Snail follows in that tradition. Director Adam Elliot weaves a fascinating, off-kilter story about children who understand better than many of their adult counterparts that their unconventional natures are what set them apart and any attempt to curtail or diminish that individuality is done at the risk of damaging their psyches.
There are elements to the story that feel familiar while also standing apart from others in their field. Animated films are, by their nature, pre-disposed to unique narratives that defy conventional archetypes and explore ponderous subjects that might not be as easily conveyed in a live-action format. Memoir of a Snail goes farther in tying in its strange little tale into its own philosophical observations. By enveloping the audience in a distinct and fascinating world where civilization is distilled into its most odd concepts, they cement their observation that being themselves helps them be better.
For young children, Memoir of a Snail won’t carry a lot of emotional or thematic weight but it has quite a few cute and humorous moments that can keep them invested. Primarily, it’s for an adult audience to dissect its motivations and explore its fathomless depths of meaning to come to an understanding of its salience. While the target audience for this is likely prepared to embrace and accept the film’s ideological imperatives, it would be better placed in the hands of those who don’t understand how forcing their and others’ children through a square hole denies them the ability to approach life and nature from an individual circular perspective.
Limited though its accessibility might be at times, Memoir of a Snail remains a captivating and inventive story about being yourself in a society predicated on homogeneity.
Review Written
April 8, 2025
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