Anomalisa is one of the few incredibly original films to be nominated for an Oscar this year and may be the first adult-oriented film to win Best Animated Feature. One can imagine that an R-rated film with stop-motion puppets is not run-of-the-mill and that certainly is the case (even the director, Charlie Kaufman, was not originally convinced that puppets were the best idea). But, despite its novel premise, Anomalisa is a delightful film that hardly ever feels gimmicky.

The story for this film is taken from Charlie Kaufman’s 2005 play of the same name. It follows Michael Stone (David Thewlis), a self-help author who travels to Cincinnati, Ohio for a conference. Every person that he meets sounds and looks like a generic white male (Tom Noonan), regardless of age or gender. He meets his old flame Bella (again voiced by Tom Noonan) at the hotel bar and tries to make sense of what went wrong in their relationship. She ends up leaving in disgust and Stone runs into another pair of women who will be attending the conference that he is speaking at. One of the women, Lisa Hesselman (Jennifer Jason Leigh), possesses a voice that actually sounds like a woman to Stone. He then has a one-night stand with Lisa as he tries to make sense of why she is the only person that sounds different to him.

For many people, the mere premise of this film is enough to turn them off: a serious story told through puppets. But I implore anybody who enjoys good movies to give this one a chance. While it may take a minute or two to get used to the animation, by the end of the movie you feel pretty immersed in the universe of this film. I went away from this film thinking more about its story and less about its puppets.

And this movie has a good story, though it does seem to fall into typical Oscar cliché territory since it is about an older man with wealth and a family trying to make sense of his meaningless life (in this regard it is a similar story to American Beauty). What really is the most interesting device that this movie employs is the use of voices. As the synopsis gives away, there are only three voice actors. David Thewlis’s character views the world through cynical eyes and seems to think that every human is the same: boring. And the movie does a good job of showing that when starting a relationship, the other person always seems novel and original but they eventually lose that sheen.

So, if you are looking to round out your Oscar must-watch list, I highly encourage the inclusion of Anomalisa.  While it may not be your favorite movie it will likely be the most original and daring movie you see this year.