Maybe, given the source material, it’s perfectly appropriate that “$9.99” has such a bizarre combination of ingredients.
Or maybe you don’t find an Israeli-Australian co-production (filmed in stop-motion animation using clay figures) that begins with a main character’s suicide to be bizarre.
The source material springs from the mind of Israeli author Etgar Keret, whose very short stories weave a pattern of the recognizable and the utterly strange.
Keret, who previously directed the wonderful “Jellyfish” from his own stories, penned the screenplay to “$9.99” based on his literary universe.
Not surprisingly, the results are fragmented, yet connected because the events are related to the denizens of an apartment complex. In the startling opening sequence, we meet a homeless man (voiced by Geoffrey Rush) who kills himself to prove a point. He later returns, apparently as an angel.
We also meet a sad businessman (Anthony LaPaglia), a lonely old-timer (Barry Otto) and a kid whose piggy bank grows more valuable to him than the money inside. A young couple splits up, and the male half (Joel Edgerton) finds himself tempted into juvenile irresponsibility by a trio of tiny, gremlin-like party hounds.
In the most sinister story, a man dates a supermodel, only to find her need for a smooth, pliable man to be extremely exacting. In scenes that carry inadvertent overtones of “Team America: World Police,” these two have naked puppet sex.
There is something appropriate about the choice of stop-motion claymation for this movie, given the surreal nature of some of the plot turns. Director Tatia Rosenthal, who worked closely with Keret in developing the project, uses the animation to pull off the more eccentric moments.
But she also plays the subtle behavioral stuff in an understated way. The implacable smile on the face of the piggy bank, the look of a park at night — these details suggest the eye of a born filmmaker.
It doesn’t hurt that some of Australia’s world-class acting talent is lined up behind these clay figures. Rush and LaPaglia are, mysteriously, almost as powerful in voice-only work as they are when visible. This little mood piece is elevated by their stature.
“$9.99”
Just your typical Israeli-Australian stop-motion animation film: short-story author Etgar Keret devised the scenario for this moody, melancholy little item about the sometimes surreal experiences of some apartment dwellers. The high-profile Aussie voice cast, including Geoffrey Rush and Anthony LaPaglia, adds stature to an already fine picture.
Rated: R for language, nudity
Showing: Varsity
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