In-depth analysis/theory (Only if you've seen the film)
So to answer anyone's question to why Anomalisa is so amazing, it's because it is a very complex psychological film that ponders the unsettling mind of Michael and the ultimate tragedy of his struggles, but also a testament to human connection. The film is very cryptic with its explanations but things fall into place when context becomes clear. Anomalisa is a fine example of how bleak storytelling should be. At first it might seem spacey and tough to unravel, but once you find that pinhole of context the scope of its narrative widens to greater depths.
Michael suffers a rare psychological disorder called Fregoli Delusion.
The Fregoli delusion, or the delusion of doubles, is a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that different people are in fact a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise.
This disorder is a subtle fact about Michael as he frequently ponders psychological problems but also the hotel he stays at is called The Fregoli, and also every character has the same voice.
This hotel is an alternate manifestation of the hotel he's staying at on his business trip.
Theory: Michael is in a dream, or a form of hysteria that meets dream and reality.
At the opening sequence as we watch a plane follow through the clouds, after a while the camera pans back to the cabin Michael resides as he watches out the window - was that really another plane, or the plane Michael sees himself riding in? Some people dream in 3rd-person. There is also a man next to him slumbering away as he mutters how holding his wife's hand is an instinct, which goes along a continuous theme of Michael's sexual frustrations muttered throughout the film.
The reality of Michael's world changes depending on his moods and patterns he picks up on (i.e dialogue from the taxi driver repeats with other characters and also visually on billboards). The redundant amount of food services on the hotel phone caught his attention as irregular as well, because it was not realistic.
Michael explores his sexual frustration, first with his ex, Bella. He thinks about where she is years after he left her. He looks up her name in a phone book and her full name is Bella Amarossi. I started thinking about her name after thinking of "Anomalisa" and how it's a play on two words, and I realize Amarossi might just be a play on words as well, and the distinction between "Amorous" and "Rossi". The real Bella Michael once dated might have been Bella Rossi, and the word Amorous reveals a very important detail.
Amorous - showing, feeling, or relating to sexual desire.
It turns out Michael is indeed going through lustful sexual desires that he'd have to call it up.
Lisa, or rather the Anomalisa Michael created, is not real. I speculate Michael did indeed have a one-night stand with a woman named Lisa, and he did indeed take advantage of her, but the Anomalisa he names is just a figment of his ideal woman and not something that exists. Anomalisa is a play between "Anomaly" and "Lisa"
Anomaly - something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.
Michael literally placed and anomaly over this woman and devised her as a "Goddess of Heaven", which the film later defines as the meaning of the two words together. Anomalisa is Michael's idea of a perfect woman.
The next day Lisa's girlfriend tells her to stay away from him because he's not normal. He took advantage of her, and her friend protects her.
Michael had wishful thoughts that Animalisa the character that he imprinted on a woman, would be the perfect remedy to break his delusional spell, and it worked for a while because only Animalisa had the distinct voice of all the voices in the film.
The song lyrics in the credits is very important, as it explains a man who gets introduced to many yet none of them are you, the woman he has not met yet, the woman of his dreams. The song then goes into saying how he sometimes re-constructs your imaginary voice in his dreams and plays out how the perfect coupling would be, and then the song closes with the emphasis that maybe one day he will meet you at a street corner.
In conclusion: Anomalisa explores a man's sexual frustrations, loneliness and psychological imperfections in a dream-reality state while he is on a business trip. There's the irony of being a public speaker yet so disassociated with human connection yet he clamors onto the possibility of finding the right one so much he dreams of it. He manifests the ideal woman onto a one-night-stand only to realize the next day she's just like everyone else and not the remedy he hoped for. He goes back to his family and still yet he suffers.
Pure tragedy.
Thoughts?