Memoir of a Snail

Memoir of a Snail
Affiliate Ad

Content Advisory: Abuse, Self-injurious behavior, Homophobia


Memoir of a Snail [Blu-ray]
  • MEMOIR OF A SNAIL MEMOIR OF A SNAIL is a poignant and heartfelt chronicle of the life of Grace Pudel, a lonely misfit with an affinity for collecting ornamental snails and an intense love of romance novels
  • At a young age, when she's separated from her twin brother, she falls into a spiral of anxiety and angst
  • Despite a continued series of hardships, inspiration and hope emerge when she strikes up an enduring friendship with an elderly eccentric woman named Pinky
  • As she slowly learns to let go of the clutter in her home and her mind, Grace starts to find her confidence and the courage to love again
  • Written and Directed by Adam Elliot Starring Sarah Snook, Eric Bana, Jacki Weaver, Kodi Smit-McPhee Golden Globe Nominee for Best Motion Picture – Animated Critics Choice Awards Nominee for Best Animated Feature Special Features: * Director's Commentary with Adam Elliot * Q&A with Adam Elliot and Jacki Weaver * Magic of Stop Motion * Interview with Sarah Snook * Making of Memoir of a Snail * Behind the Scenes of Memoir of a Snail

Purchases made through Amazon links may earn a commission for Sean Kelly on Movies. Last update on 2025-02-09

A lonely woman tells her life story to her pet snail in . After the death of her last remaining friend friend Pinky (), Grace Pudel () goes into the garden and releases her longtime pet snail Sylvia. As Sylvia inches her way to her final destination, recounts her sad life story, beginning with her mother dying while giving birth to Grace and her twin brother Gilbert ().

As children, Grace and Gilbert lived with their French father Percy (), a former juggler now confined to a wheelchair after being hit by a car. However, following Percy’s untimely death due to his sleep apnea, Grace and Gilbert find themselves separated into different foster families, with Grace living with a pair of swingers in Canberra and Gilbert being stuck with the ultra-religious Perth apple farms Ruth () and Owen (Bernie Clifford). However, Grace finds a beacon of light in her life when she meets the freespirited Pinky.

Sarah Snook voices Grace in MEMOIR OF A SNAIL 0e59b4ca 0860 ef11 ba57 0efdbb9167fd

Memoir of a Snail Synopsis

Memoir of a Snail is the sophomore feature-length film from Academy Award winning stop motion animator Elliot (Harvey Krumpet, & Max). The film stars Sarah Snook (Succession, Predestination) as the voice of the angst and anxiety ridden protagonist and narrator Grace Pudel. Since childhood, Grace has been obsessed with snails, whom she views as her true friends. Grace also has an immensely close relationship with her twin brother Gilbert, voiced as an adult by Kodi Smit-McPhee (Slow West, The Power of the Dog), especially after he donated blood for a life-saving transfusion.

Things take a turn for the worse in Grace’s life after the sudden death of her father, resulting in she and Gilbert being sent to separate foster families. However, Grace finds herself uplifted by the freespirited Pinky, voiced by Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook). Pinky becomes a surrogate parent for Grace, helping her when things are low.

My Thoughts on Memoir of a Snail

A little over a decade ago, I came across ‘s 2009 debut feature Mary & Max and absolutely loved and related to the film’s honest and unflinching depiction of a man diagnosed with what was then known as Asperger’s Syndrome. Apart from the short film Ernie Biscuit released in 2015, it has taken fifteen years for Adam Elliot to produce a follow-up to Mary & Max. Memoir of a Snail continues what Adam Elliot describes as his “Trilogy of Trilogies,” consisting of three short shorts, three long shorts, and three features.

Like Mary & Max, Memoir of a Snail is focused on a neurodiverse protagonist. However, while Max was an isolated man on the autism spectrum, Grace is a woman suffering from severe angst and anxiety. Grace’s loneliness is only increased when she gets older, as she is separated from her twin brother Gilbert and faces one personal tragedy after another.

The films of Adam Elliot are one of the key examples of animation not purely being a medium for children. In addition to the very serious mental health themes of the film, Memoir of a Snail features a sizable amount of adult content, including gratuitous nudity, due to the fact that the protagonist Grace’s foster parents are swingers. However, the film also has an immense level of heart.

Memoir of a Snail is built around the lead voice performance by Sarah Snook, whose character Grace is the primary narrator of the film. In addition to other leads voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jacki Weaver, the film features as the voice of a Masturbating Magistrate and musician has a single line cameo, which can be easy to miss if you aren’t listening for it. As a whole, Memoir of a Snail is less a film dependant on dialogue and one that lets the visuals tells the story, based on Grace’s narration.

While I didn’t have the same personal relation to Memoir of a Snail than I did to Mary & Max, I still believe the film to be a successful sophomore feature from Adam Elliot. The film is an example of how the medium of animation can be used to tell very personal stories. The end result is a film that will end up pulling at your heartstrings.

Trailer for Memoir of a Snail

61d8717dbd737f197e83017f9202a5ce?s=96&r=pg

Sean Patrick Kelly

Sean Patrick Kelly is a Toronto-based freelance film critic and blogger with a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema and Media Studies from York University. Since founding his site in 2004, Sean has shared his passion for cinema through insightful reviews and commentary. His work has also been featured in prominent outlets, including Toronto Film Scene, HuffPost Canada, Screen Anarchy, ScreenRant, and Rue Morgue Magazine.

Scroll to Top