Animator David O'Reilly

Yesterday, I'd never heard of a German computer animator named David O'Reilly. Now, I'm all full of respect for his talent. Here are 2 reasons why.

The External World is a deadpan comedy, similar to Roy Andersson's work (Songs From the Second Floor) but done with computer animation. Various isolated moments that create a mosaic of a city in constant despair. Funny, twisted despair. O'Reilly exploits the glitches in computer animation and its numerous forms (mostly taken from Nintendo style video games) and builds his comedy around them.

That Andersson deadpan is then filtered through a crude sensibility. I'm generally not a fan of crude humor, but it mostly works here. He's not using the blood, sex and potty humor to shock or provoke but to match the crudeness of the animation. It's a reflection on this type of humor that wouldn't work at all in live action. This is definitely not for kids and a risky venture for adults too. I feel like I should give some examples since I recommending it so highly. A woman slashes her wrists in a bathtub and a cheerful avatar steps into the tub to take a shower, oblivious of the woman. There's an intermission featuring an avatar in blackface who talks in a stereotyped jewish accent. Neither is done to be offensive but to play up how easily offended we can get at these images. He also says the priceless non-sequitur "and I found out the hard way that even turtles have vaginas."

Watch it Here

Please Say Something tells of an abusive relationship between a cat and a mouse. Played serious and emotionally complex, O'Reilly again uses the deliberately crude animation very much to the benefit of the piece. Reminded me of what David Lynch was able to do with the lo-def look of Inland Empire, but that's the only thing this film shares with Lynch. The unusual animation touches fit into the story perfectly. This is the kind of project I would expect if Gondry or Spike Jonze got their hands on computer animation. Reminded me a lot of Jonze's I'm Here, about two robots in love. Some painful emotions and great sentiment drawn from an unlikely, absurd premise. Unlike The External World, the film is made for adults but not caked with puerile behavior.

Watch it Here