MovieChat Forums > Mary and Max. (2009) Discussion > sick and twisted

sick and twisted

posted 14 years ago by charlotte9207
26 replies | jump to latest

in a mere 24 minutes of watching this film i was disgusted by the 'conversation' from max's pov. he knew full well the age of the young girl yet insisted on dialogue of adult nature. this is NOT a childrens claymation film. i fail to see how this could even be considered an adult claymation film. from mockery of 'an old jew', one with manic phobias, to discussion of condoms and where babies come from among the other distasteful topics, there seemed to be no end to how ridiculous this film is. not to mention, in agreement with a previous post-er, totally boring. unless your idea of a good film is to have someone narrate a bedtime story, with purile humor thrown in.

[–] klak-5 14 years ago

Charlotte,

Judging from your message board history, it seems you only come on here to bash films, say they're terrible, etc. These are not the sort of comments that lead to interesting discussions of films; they just lead to flaming. Why not frequent the board of a film you like and engage in an interesting conversation about it?

Obviously most people here would disagree with you, and I think your criticisms of the film are ill-considered, but you're not looking for a conversation about the film, are you? You're just looking to vent.

[–] j-cole88 14 years ago

Well said klak-5.

Charlotte, had you watched more than 24 minutes of the movie, you may have realised that Max is an adult with a child like mind. He doesn't understand sex and reproduction like most adults would. In a way, their conversations are like that of two children discussing things they have no knowledge of (except what other adults have told them). Had you bothered to watch the rest of the movie, you would have seen that Mary's mother is furious when she finds out that Mary's penpal is an adult male. But she, like yourself, doesn't realise Max's harmless nature.

As for the boring comment, I found this movie to be the opposite. It is unusual, sweet and moving. Personally I find Will Ferrel movies boring, but perhaps you would prefer one of his movies instead.

[–] misterkaffeine 14 years ago

People have to stop judging movies when they're only a quarter through it.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nogard64 13 years ago

LOL welcome to the average american film viewer they are very close minded and they just can't accept ideas and concepts that push the boundaries just a little bit. I don't know if its the puritan roots or just some how Americans are brainwashed on BAMBI and Disney movies, but really its sad american's have a hard time in seeing films as a medium which can be full of depth and profound discovery, if people just learn to suspend judgment for just a few minutes.

Sigh

http://hemestate.blogspot.com/

-things I write on IMDB may come from my blog

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ProkhorZakharov 13 years ago

You've either been tricked by the fact that there are a WHOLE LOT of Americans and therefore even if the proportion of idiots to non-idiots is constant across populations, America is bound to have a higher gross number of them;

Or you've been tricked by sampling bias - maybe imdb is more highly advertised in the US than other countries (I don't know), and therefore everybody and their dog has it in the US but in other countries only the really big movie-fiends get accounts;

Or you just have something against Americans, and so you actively look for that. I know this guy, whenever there is a stupid driver on the road he will look to see who it is. If it is a woman, he will say "OF COURSE it is a woman!" but if it is a man, he will just say something like "What a stupid driver!" I just sit and observe quietly, and I notice that statistically, his encounters with "idiot drivers" seems to be pretty evenly spread across gender and age groups, but he has it in his mind that it's always women, because that's what he is specifically looking for.

When I was in Australia, the proportion of people into niche independent films seemed to be about the same as that in the US. Almost everybody in Aus just wanted to watch Glee, the American remake of The Office, and that Bear Grylls survival show. I'm not rubbishing the Aussies now, I'm just saying... in most places, the mainstream is... well... mainstream!

[–] masonhornet 13 years ago

The average American IMDB user gave this film an 8.0. So much for that perceived close-mindedness, huh? Now, please excuse me, I have some books to burn.

[–] tuckajj 12 years ago

ye because this *beep* movie is the benchmark for how open-minded Americans are. It does seem to be a good indicator of how far your head is up your ass.

[–] samanthaseaotter 14 years ago

Perfect response, and beautifully worded.

For my $.02, I agree with your additional comment on Will Ferrell.

Samantha
"We're here. We're dead. Get used to it."

[–] Nekrophagia 14 years ago

Amen, j-cole88!

"I'm - I'm hurt real bad. I think I'm dying"

"Continue dying"

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Wombstar 13 years ago

Don't forget this was an Australian film.. and Aussies are always straight to the point!

[–] Tommy 42 13 years ago

I love twisted, dark stories...even more so if there's some naughty stuff thrown in!

Just to throw in my thoughts - kids are always asking questions and they don't know what is acceptable or not.

Just because we live in a world where a middle-aged man talking to a kid raises questions doesn't mean that every man is going to take advantage of the situation.

One of the many reason I love this film is because Max is so innocent and child-like.

TS

[–] garyahampton 13 years ago

I loved this film, but I wouldn't call it dark or twisted. At the beginning, listening to the subjects Max writes about, some of it seems inappropriate when writing to a young girl, but this just meant that the material was simply dealing with some adult themes. No one would write the word testicle in a letter to a child ! But as the two life stories unfold - Max's in retrospection; Mary's in realtime - we come to understand that Max, suffering from Asperger's Syndrome, has no concept of what is appropriate when dealing with people external to his own muddled concept of reality. Remember that this is a man who has to refer facial expressions to his self-drawn happy face/angry face reference book. The viewer is confronted over any early suspicions that Max is a pedarist. Rather than twisted or dark, the film deals with the confusion of alienation and childhood angst in an adult, explicit but intelligent and sensitive manner.

I feel sorry for the posters that stopped watching the film after 20 or so minutes; maybe they don't grasp that fact that a film like this premises its subject matter within the first act in a way that grabs the viewer. They've missed out on what I think is a very fine film.

"Do you want to go to the toilet, Albert?"

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] benmasta 13 years ago

everyone hates people like you lol. The only ones who dont are other people like you who hate the things you hate.

Its cause you take everything offensively unless it is thoroughly non-offensive lol. its horrible to listen to people like you act like your opinion is interesting to anyone beyond good mockery fodder.

all in all your mind-set is that of what max suffered from. He was just less vocal about it. I would be interested to see what kinda movies you find to be a good watch

[–] delopowitz 12 years ago

There are a lot of people who come here to complain the same way. They watch for long enough to become offended and make sure everyone knows they were. I'm not a fan of people saying that if someone doesn't like something, it's because they don't understand it. But it happens. I think people are entitled to their opinion; I would hate anyone to tell me I'm not entitled to mine. But I understood this movie. I come to it from the point of view of someone who is considered a very high functioning Aspie, though undiagnosed. I do a lot better than Max. I wonder if I really qualify or if I just never learned to socialize properly, and have a lot of nervous habits that people think are stims. But I understand Max, and Mary too. The bleakness is their reality, and the bright spots to them stand as a contrast to it. The things Max thinks are appropriate reflect his cluelessness about what really is okay to say. A lot of single men and women with no disorders don't really get what is and is not okay for kids. I could go on but I'm tired of typing. If it was me that had posted an angry review, I'd be too afraid to come back and read the responses anyway and I can only assume you may act similarly.

[–] dead_doll00 12 years ago

...you realize the main character was supposed to have a form of autism/asperger's, right? Guess not.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] route67 12 years ago

'this is NOT a childrens claymation film.'

Couldn't agree more & its surprising that many reviewer's have mentioned that its suitable for children.