I attended “Theater of the New Ear” at UCLA on September 15.
I am convinced that Francis Fregoli is indeed a psuedonym for the Coen Brothers themselves. My first indication was, as a few people have indicated on your site, the cast. Although Noonan has no association with the Coen Brothers, Jennifer Jason Leigh and David Thewlis seem to be dead giveaways. No offense meant, but how many writer/directors would randomly choose JJ Leigh as their leading lady? Not many, I would assume. She's no Meryl Streep. But the Coen Brothers' past experience with the actress (in “The Hudsucker Proxy”) would explain their decision. In “Proxy,” Leigh's voice makes her character, which would explain why the Coens would choose her for a sound play.The play itself also exudes sentiments of the Coen Brothers, not Charlie Kaufman. While Kaufman's comedy is all in the words - what is being said, the Coens work seems to concentrate more on tone - how it's said and delivered. With John Goodman's last line in “Sawbones” (”What a load ‘a crap”), it is not the Kaufmanesque wit that makes the line funny, but the Coen-like direction that adds zest to the line. The same can be said for Leigh's singing of the Titanic theme song in “Anomalisa,” it wouldn't be funny reading it on paper, but it was certaintly fhilarious hearing it sung in her squeaky, lispy voice.
Another point to mention is the use of personal letters being read aloud. In “Sawbones,” the play is concluded and the plot wrapped up with the characters reading letters they have written. The same thing occurs in “Anomalisa,” the back story of the main character being revealed in a dictated letter as well as Leigh's letter being read aloud at the end.
Yet another parallel to consider is disfiguration. It is a powerful technique, having a physically deformed character in a sound play. Disfigured characters rarely appear in films because they are so unpleasant, but I think the Coens used this sound play to take advantage of the lack of visuals. Both John Goodman's character in “Sawbones” and Jennifer Jason Leigh's character in “Anomalisa” are terribly ugly because of some past accident. Their deformities are not revealed outright, neither character says “I am physically deformed,” but their countenance is revealed subtly and gradually. In “Sawbones,” it is used for comedic purposes; in “Anomalisa,” dramatic. Which one went over better? I would say the dramatic version in “Anomalisa.”
Definitely a theory as solid as any others, and definitely very good points about Charlie's style versus this Fregoli nut. EXCEPT it begs a new question: I'm not sure why the Coens would go all coy and write under a pseudonym, especially if “Anomalisa” does display many of their usual traits. But what do I know? I just work here. And I don't even get paid. One final note: you know in movies, when someone reads a letter? And you hear the voice of the person who wrote the letter? That happens to me when I read menus. Anyway, Spencer's thoughts have been archived with other BCKsters' here.
That be all for now. This update was typed while listening to the CDs “Ultra” and “Songs of Faith and Devotion” by Depeche Mode. ACTUAL CDs. Nuts to MP3s and those funky iPods all you kids go wild over. You can't tile a floor with MP3s, and an iPod never picked no cotton. FIGHT THE POWER, PEOPLE!
