In The Air Is Christopher Gray (2013) from Felix Massie on Vimeo.
One of the main reasons I love this film is that it takes on a familiar coming of age story that you don’t often see in animated film. It fits perfectly with the simplistic line style of a suburban home that could be located literally anywhere in America. The warm sound of summer and playing with neighborhood friends down the street is pure nostalgia. Which is why it’s so wonderfully comedic, and at times upsetting, when the side plot is over the top traumatic. If I had to describe the feel, I’d say it’s if the film American Beauty was severely condensed and combined with an episode of South Park.
When I consider my favorite films, the top picks are media that play with expectations. At its center, this is a story of young unrequited love. Something that many can relate back to their early teenage years to the point of their first heartbreak. The film predominately uses wide-shot scenes on a plain white background, as if we’re watching the world unfold in a framed picture of a child’s drawing. They pan slightly, but usually retaining the housing backgrounds. Occasionally there is a slow zoom in, typically on Barry Flint’s scenes. This in effect is used to separate it from the more lighthearted feel of the storyline, and to “bring us into the real world” per say. Life is not so flat and simple. Few scenes deviate from this, such as when Christopher is walking with his best friend. It’s a slow panning shot as they travel down the train tracks, discussing love and how Christopher will ultimately win over Stacy with a daredevil feat. Or the slow motion shot of Christopher mid-jump as Stacy’s mom, not Stacy, answers the front door. Such weight is placed on these scenes, but on Christopher’s tale not Johnny. The character is literally being suffocated but the audience still wonders instead, “where is Stacy?”
The comedic timing is fantastic. They implement both audio and visual jokes throughout. First the relationship between the narrator and the kids’ conversations is pure repeat/callback comedy. Delivery is everything and often the narrator sets up jokes for Christopher to unknowingly finish. Moments such as the early bird getting the worm or the heart shaped tree scene I believe can only be accomplished in an animated medium.
There’s also a certain anonymity to the faceless stick figures. It’s easy to project ourselves or people we know onto these characters. Which is why it’s so shocking as a viewer once these personas are contrasted by a stark and dark narrative. Their motions are basic, but you can fit personalities from energy, walk cycle styles, and if they feel more reserved versus outgoing.
Massie makes use of lighting to heavily set the tone of these scenes. “The storm coming” is literally building up to Johnny’s incident. The script continually alludes to how this slice of suburban life will ultimately take a turn. From saying it will be the last time Barry will smile, to at 4:28 directly tapping Johnny Flint on the nose stating, “we all die someday”. Christopher easily bikes away from the constrictor scene and into the next leaving clouds behind as both stories continue in tandem. It’s not until the “heartbreak” scene that the clouds catch up. At the exact moment Gabriel lifts up the stick, we hear a clash of thunder, the sound of Flint firing his gun, and Christopher puts his hand over his heart as if he’s been shot.
The two storylines of unrequited love versus the very disturbing event of a child being killed by his pet snake give us a duality of trauma. Both tales end in the same place. Both are heartbroken in severely different ways. The shot slowly pans out from a rainy blood bath, while light-hearted audio twinkling piano music is overlapped.
From this film I think we can take away a few key topics. 1. Delivery and timing are crucial. 2. Story can uphold a film even if your visuals are simple. 3. Don’t be afraid to contrast your visuals and your tone of content. Playing with audience preconceptions can be highly successful if accomplished properly. Overall this is a great little film that still centers around one unanswered question, “will the boy win over the girl?”