I’ve already watched and reviewed both of these titles as I was initially offered screeners of them without audio description. Turns out, surprise! these two titles DO have audio description. the joke is on the studios still, because I’ve already voted everywhere I can vote, and because my accessibility needs were not important enough for them, these titles were neither nominated by me in any instance, nor did I vote for them.
memoir Of A Snail- Second time through, my floating grade was pretty spot on. Adam Elliot’s stop-motion adult animation is still an oddly moving, at times incredibly quirky affair, led by a strong voice performance by Sarah Snook. The second time through, I had a lot more of the visual references, even some fun names for things, or the fact that the main character is wearing a snail hat. I also had more context for, and got more out of the storyline for her twin brother (voiced by Kodi Smit McPhee). the “going in blind” aspect of this, is something I’ve talked about before, and that is finding a way to share how special certain specific styles are. I’d love to find a way for stop-motion animation to not just have audio description, but come up with a way for you to appreciate the work that goes into it, which is far different from traditional animation, or rotoscope. when I could see, I loved a really great stop motion film because you could really feel the love of the craft on film. Something like Coraline really had me taken with it, and I’d love to see what Adam Elliot brought to the table. The audio description track does embrace the off-kilter nature of the film, but the handiwork is what I’d love to translate next.
fresh, Final Grade: A-, Audio description: B+
The Outrun- Soarise Ronan’s Oscar bait just didn’t get her there. My initial thoughts were that I had seen her in better roles before, and this just wasn’t her year. I was pretty much feeling the same way coming out of this with audio description. it skewed up a bit from the central floating median of a C+, but The outrun as a film feels like something I can’t ever fully get invested in. I’m more invested in Ronan, but the story, which is based on someone’s real life addiction struggles, feels just like another addiction drama, and doesn’t do enough to distinguish itself. there are a few powerful moments brought out in the audio description that pushed the movie up a bit, in terms of what an individual is willing to do to get their addiction fix. I think the fact that the supporting cast feels very underdeveloped, means that anytime our main character attempts a real connection, no one is really developed anywhere near her level, including her parents. She seems to truly be the driving force of the movie, but often the film suggests that she needs something or someone else in a given moment to keep her on her path to sobriety. The movie had so many gaps where the dialog was missing the first time around, it made it hard for me to engage at all, but now that I can, my greatest wish is that there had been a bit more investment in the ensemble around her. It is something I also felt coming out of Maria, like the singular performance would be enough. It is a choice, but not always true.
Fresh, Final Grade: B-, Audio Description: B+