Imperfection In 'Mary And Max'

The prominent theme of imperfection throughout ‘Mary and Max’ is evident through Max stating ‘you can’t choose your warts, but you can choose your friends.’ REFERENCE This reinforces the idea that an individual should not suffer for being different to society but they should be accepted for their imperfections. Such a quote delivers a raw emotion to the audience prompting them to sympathise with the character for having to suffer further hardships at the cruelty of others. There is an emphasis here on how society’s judgement is based on perception of individuals rather than for individual’s personalities. Perception as a theme in the film is regarded as something that is one dimensional, which contrasts against the reality of perception of

A lack of colour is particularly emphatic as it helps to highlight a lack of warmth and happiness to the film which again represents how a different or disabled person may feel in society, in turn aiding a stronger delivery of Elliot’s moral message at the core of his work. Max is shown to be from New York city –a city which is renowned world wide for the electric atmosphere and the endless possibilities and opportunities. Presenting this in grey scale Elliot is powerfully contrasting what society sees as a city of lights and potential with how a ‘disabled’ person may view it -as a city with little to offer for someone with their condition. The little colour represents little hope that an individual suffering with a mental disability such as Asperger’s has and their inability to cope with such chaotic places (again emphasised through the lack of colour). In opposition to this Elliot chooses to present Mary’s lifestyle using a brown colour scheme. Brown is a particularly bleak and heavy colour however in difference to the greys and blacks there is a warmth to the colour that helps to deliver a message of hope for Mary. Whilst the colour schemes are different the similarity lies with both lifestyles depicting a sense of lacking and

‘Mary and Max’ focuses on the struggles of an individual who suffers mentally, whilst his film ‘Harvie Krumpet’ focuses on another aspect of difference –that being an individual who suffers from the speech impediment Tourette’s. Tourette’s is a condition where an individual cannot supress a ‘tic’ which is a sudden spazam of a muscle nerve in the body. As a result of such, those suffering may often shout out or be unable to compose themselves in the same way others may in both pressured and non pressured circumstances. In the film we see [name] go through personal struggles of losing his parents and trying to fit into society as an immigrant in Australia –all of which is beyond the difficulty he already faces through his condition. This is particularly emphatic of Elliot as he is presenting an emotionally tough scene for the audience to as a result create a strong sense of longing towards [name]. As the audience experiences the personal struggles facing [name] the emotional connection of empathy is strengthened. Further, Elliot emphatically uses a young boy as the main character, his youth representing his innocence makes any unkind remarks made against him seem all the more unjustified which further engages the audience’s sense of motherhood and protective nature of a young child. When the audience is presented with Harvie again, there is a strong emotional