The menfolk in the animated feature “$9.99” can be a sulky lot.
Granted, these inhabitants of an urban apartment building — a fusion of Tel Aviv, Sydney and New York — have their reasons.
Dave has just been turned down for a telemarketing job. His father, Jim (Anthony LaPaglia in full gruff mode), is a crank since his wife up and left.
Aging widower Albert misses his mate, but he’s a sweet, if too often ignored, recounter of yarns. There’s a magician about to lose his home, and a soccer-loving kid and his father who seem to be fending for themselves.
Even a smoking, tart-talking guardian angel (Geoffrey Rush) pines for his departed wife.
Based on celebrated Israeli author Etgar Keret’s stories, Tatia Rosenthal’s strong debut feature is a study in guydom.
Take Ron (Joel Edgerton of “Kinky Boots”). When his fiancèe departs in frustration, he begins entertaining a trio of inch-high slackers.
The only other woman in the film is a supermodel with an intriguing fetish.
“$9.99” is the price of the self-help manual Dave (Samuel Johnson) orders. An ad promises the answer to “the meaning of life.” And gentle but aimless, Dave could use some insight.
The film may be the first ensemble drama done in stop-motion, a style of animation that manipulates puppets, shoots a still, then moves the figures again.
It’s a painstaking craft, and Rosenthal’s film is often lovely. An image of characters leaping above the surface of a park lake like dolphin is a gift.
But in the midst of the Robert Altman-like cuts from character to character, it isn’t always clear if the animation is integral to the movie or merely a way of sprucing up its more familiar tales of melancholy and yearning.
Keret’s own directorial debut, 2007’s “Jellyfish” (penned by wife Shira Geffen), was also a fractured, ensemble-driven work. It focused on three women living in Tel Aviv. Although it was live-action, its surreal undercurrents left a more lasting and magical impression.
Directed by Tatia Rosenthal; written by Rosenthal and Etgar Keret, based on his stories; starring the voices of Geoffrey Rush, Anthony LaPaglia, Samuel Johnson, Claudia Karvan, Joel Edgerton, Barry Otto, Leanna Walsman, Ben Mendelson, Jamie Katsamatsas and Brian Meagan. Rated R for language and brief sexuality and nudity. 78 minutes. Opens today at the Esquire theater.
