‘Memoir Of A Snail’: Read The Screenplay For Adam Elliot’s Annecy And London Film Festival Winner

Robert Lang
·3-min read

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the year’s most talked-about scripts continues with IFC Films’ stop-motion animated tragicomedy Memoir of a Snail. Written and directed by Australian filmmaker Adam Elliot, the film boasts an all-star Aussie voice cast including Sarah Snook, Eric Bana, Jackie Weaver and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

IFC Films, which also distributed Elliot’s first stop-motion film Mary & Max, scooped up rights to Snail in May and sent it on a fruitful fall festival run, where it picked up the top prizes as Annecy and BFI London. It was released in theaters in October and has since picked up Golden Globe and Critics Choice animation noms.

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The plot follows Grace Pudel (Snook), a snail-obsessed misfit with an optimistic outlook on life. Grace recounts her life life story to a humble garden snail called Sylvia. After tragically losing her parents, she and her twin brother Gilbert (Smit-McPhee) are separated and sent to opposite sides of Australia. As they maintain their connection through letters, Grace must navigate a world that seems overwhelming, while longing for the day they’ll be reunited.

Elliot’s script is a heartfelt exploration of loss, self-acceptance and the importance of always living life to the fullest. Like his previous adult works, the film is based on his family and friends and explores challenging subject matter that is often dark but tempered with moments of hilarity and warmth.

As Grace grows older, she spirals into a state of anxiety and isolation, becoming a hoarder and retreating into her room. A glimmer of hope appears with the arrival of Ken (Tony Armstrong), a man who adores her and seems to understand her. However, a devastating revelation shatters her world. To add to her woes, Ken has a hidden fetish and has been manipulating her.

Devastated, Grace turns to her eccentric mentor, Pinky (Weaver), for guidance. Under Pinky’s wise counsel, Grace begins a journey of self-discovery and healing. She learns to let go of the clutter in her life, both physical and emotional. With newfound confidence and courage, she embraces the future and the possibility of love once more.

Elliot’s inspiration for the character of Grace stemmed from a real-life friend, a “keen collector” born with a cleft palate. As Elliot explained, “She has led a colorful life and has been a prostitute, drug addict, fantasist, public nudist, and fashion designer (not in that order). She collects taxidermy, quirky antiques, and friends.”

“She tells enthralling anecdotes at her famous dinner parties and is a true raconteur and unknowing eccentric,” he adds. “Her childhood, however, was traumatic; 11 operations on her lip had left her disfigured and mentally scarred. Teased at school, she learnt to cope and as she grew learnt how to turn lemons into lemonade. This film is infused with aspects of her life as well as my mother’s … and my own.”

Check out the script below.

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