‘Memoir of a Snail’ Review: A Moving Stop-Motion Journey Forward

Warning: This review contains minor spoilers for Memoir of a Snail.

Snails are not often regarded as indispensable creatures, yet they possess two exceptional qualities that make them the perfect thematic vehicle for understanding life: The ability to withdraw into their shell when they feel threatened or scared and the capacity to propel themselves exclusively forward. These two traits are exactly what Adam Elliot‘s sensational stop-motion movie Memoir of a Snail uses to make it one of the most impactful movies of 2024.

Adam Elliot’s ‘Memoir of a Snail’ Is Masterfully Crafted

Succession‘s Sarah Snook tenderly voices Grace Pudel, a delightful yet downtrodden character who shares her life story with her pet snail, Sylvia, following the loss of her favorite person on Earth, Pinky (Jacki Weaver). Her life hasn’t been an easy one. It’s been full of severe circumstances — her mother died during childbirth, her well-intentioned yet alcoholic father expired soon into her youth, and her brother Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee) was sent to a religiously devout family while Grace was sent to a pair of parents that were swingers. The story of her youth manifests a magnetic world created by Elliot, full of stop-motion nudity, sorrowful faces, and more stop-motion nudity.

Memoir of a Snail possesses a masterfully adult story, presenting one of the most thematically dense scripts not just of any film released in 2024, but of any stop-motion film ever. The story continues through the framework of Grace and Gilbert exchanging letters, continually promising each other that they will soon break free of the snail-like shells placed over them and push forward to see each other once again. For Grace, this snail-like shell manifests in the comforts she seeks solace in — classic literature, guinea pigs, and her snail-themed oddments. Life’s seemingly trivial mementos that, in fact, can carry wondrous hope and nostalgic safety for some.

For all of the hope Gilbert offered Grace through his endearing letters, the hardcore religious family he was forced to live with never returned the favor. Unable to find a true shell of his own, Gilbert’s story is one that directly juxtaposes and beautifully compliments Graces — the pitfalls of one’s inability to find frivolous comfort and the bleak outcome that may result. Elliot’s ability to maintain a grim yet hopeful tone throughout the entirety of the film is powerful. Memoir of a Snail never shies away from its many complex and grounded (and dark) messages resulting in a profound impact that leaves a lasting impression.

We All Have Our Own Snail Shell

As Grace recounts the ins and outs of her seemingly tragic life, she relives her meeting with Pinky, revealing in rich detail why their bond grew to be so powerful. The flow of coarse humor entangling with moments of hearty despair keeps the story not only engaging but provocative and thoughtful, constantly pushing for deeper thematic excavation.

Apposing the comforts of one’s own shell is the idea of the hardened, nearly impossible to break out of, shells that others place upon us. Gilbert’s family fervently thwarting his attempts to escape the apple farm on which they live and the perceived love that Grace falls into with a man who turns out to only be using her for his dark fetishes are just two of the genuinely heartbreaking circumstances that arise and give way to a deeper thematic level of the film.

‘Memoir of a Snail’ Is One of the Most Impactful Films of 2024

Just as snails must move forward, so does Grace, and, along with her, Gilbert and her pet snail Sylvia. Elliot boasts a message of youthful optimism by the time the final few scenes roll around, perfectly weaving the moments of authentic happiness with the occasions in which life can’t seem to get any worse. Such is life. A spiral, not dissimilar to that often found on the shell of a fated snail, with dynamic junctions requiring hope, sadness, and even grief to continue to move forward.

It’s not often, especially in the age of quick content consumption, that a movie will leave you thinking about it hours, or even days, later. But Memoir of a Snail is that movie. It demands heart. It requires vulnerability. For all of its dreary moments told so splendidly, the film continues to press forward; the journey it embarks upon is special. Visually stunning at every turn, the film will undoubtedly have you in or near tears by the credits, if not for just how adorable and buoyant Grace is. A superb work of art that not only presents itself as such on the outside but proves to be such on the inside, Memoir of a Snail will leave you sadder, happier, and more grateful than when it found you.

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