Grace Pudel is a young girl in 1970s Melbourne, Australia, who lives with her twin brother Gilbert and their French father Percy, a former juggler who is now a paraplegic alcoholic. She develops a hobby of collecting snails, which she shares with her mother who died in childbirth. The twins have a close and supportive relationship, and Gilbert defends Grace from schoolmates who tease her for her cleft lip, resulting from being born prematurely.
When Percy dies in his sleep, the twins are separated and sent to foster homes on different sides of the country. Grace is sent to Canberra where she is raised by Ian and Narelle, who are nice but are often absent due to being swingers. Gilbert is sent to a farming family of religious fundamentalists in Perth, who treat him with cruelty and abuse, particularly from the matriarch Ruth. Over the years, Gilbert writes letters to Grace, promising to find and reunite with her when he grows up. While this hope keeps her going, Grace is unable to form any connections and passions in her life in Canberra. This results in her obsessively purchasing and hoarding any snail-themed products and collectibles she finds.
As a teenager, Grace eventually befriends an eccentric but kind elderly woman named Pinky, who always finds silver linings in her life despite some misfortunes, such as losing two husbands and many jobs. When Ian and Narelle retire to join a nudist group, Pinky becomes Grace's foster mother, continuing to support her through puberty despite her still feeling depressed and aimless. Meanwhile, Gilbert continues to suffer abuse from his foster family, with only the youngest son Ben treating him with fondness and admiration for his rebelliousness.
Upon becoming an adult, Grace falls in love with Ken, a new neighbour who is a microwave repairman. The two quickly start a loving relationship, eventually leading to him proposing to her. However, on the day of their wedding, Grace receives a letter from Ruth, reporting that Gilbert has died in a fire. Gilbert started the fire in a rage after a homophobic Ruth subjected him and Ben to electric shock punishment upon discovering their relationship. Grace is distraught by his death, becoming more depressed as her hoarding and overeating increases. Grace is further shocked when she discovers Ken's scrapbook, revealing that he has a fetish for large women and that he has been feeding her fat to gain weight. She divorces him, leaving only Pinky to care for her and help her lose weight. Grace also comes to regret using her money on her snail-themed collection, rather than to find Gilbert when he was still alive.
Sometime later, Pinky is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, leading Grace to become the one taking care of her. Pinky eventually dies after a few months, mentioning potatoes in her last words, to Grace's confusion. Grace brings her ashes to Pinky's vegetable garden and sets her jar of snails free. Now alone with nothing to live for, Grace decides to commit suicide by eating poison, but she spits it out at the last second upon realising that Pinky has left her box of savings for her in the potato patch. Also in the box is a letter from Pinky, thanking Grace for their years together and encouraging her to live a new life unclouded by her past struggles and traumas. Grace strives to follow her advice, beginning with disposing and burning her snail-themed collection, keeping only the snail beanie made for her by Percy.
A year later, Grace lives a stable life, pursuing her dream of being a stop-motion animator. At a screening of her short film, Gilbert reveals himself to her, having survived the fire and found his way to her. After their tearful reunion, the twins live happily together again and finally fulfil their late father's wish of having his ashes scattered while on a rollercoaster at Luna Park, the amusement park they went to as children.
Memoir of a Snail was developed over an eight-year period.[9] Filming occurred in Melbourne in May 2023.[5][10] In February 2024, it was announced that Sarah Snook was cast as the lead.[4]
In the US, the film was rated R "for sexual content, nudity and some violent content" by the Motion Picture Association,[14] in contrast to the film's less restricted M rating in Australia for "mature themes, coarse language and sexual references."[15]
Reception
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 92 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10.The website's consensus reads: "This stop motion odyssey of hope triumphing over life's despair with humanity to spare makes Memoir of a Snail a deft, heartfelt tale."[16]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 83 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[17]
Peter Debruge of Variety commended director Adam Elliot's dedication to a "dark and surprisingly moving brand of storytelling" and praised the film's voice cast and score.[9] In Deadline, Stephanie Bunbury noted repetitive elements of the plot and dialogue but argued that these flaws underscored the film's themes of human imperfection.[8]
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