Anomalisa

From the completely original mind of Charlie Kaufman, the man behind "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Being John Malkovich," comes the Academy Award-nominated animated film "Anomalisa," co-directed by stop-motion specialist Duke Johnson.

Michael Stone (David Thewlis) is the king of customer service -- in fact, he wrote the book on it. It's called "How May I Help You Help Them?" And he sets out on a journey to a strange new world called Cincinnati for a convention to promote his reputation as a satisfaction guru.

There he happens into a little shop where he buys a mysterious antique doll for his son's birthday. It's an adult store and this is a sex toy, but Michael really doesn't seem to be paying much attention. He has a big speech this weekend that he needs to prepare for.

But a few drinks with some groupies sets him off on a business trip love affair with a woman named Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who shows him that something in his universe may be extraordinary.

First produced as a play, Kaufman has use the medium of animation to comment on the experience of being human and uses a limited cast to contribute to his theme. (Tom Noonan plays every part in the script except the two leads.) Perhaps the antithesis of the Academy Award-winner this year, "Inside Out," this film explores the internal workings of a mind from the outside in. It doesn't explain why the main character feels the way he does, just shows his feeling in thought provoking, puppet-created images.

The Blu-ray Combo Pack comes with three featurettes, a substantial behind-the-scenes look at the making of this unique animated film with Kaufman and Johnson, a going-over of the creation of a very intimate sex scene and a feature that focuses on how sound was designed for this stop-motion world.

"Anomalisa"
Blu-ray Combo Pack $39.99
www.Anomalisa.com/