Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Centres on Canadian animator Ryan Larkin, who in later years lived on skid row in Montreal following a history of drug and alcohol abuse.
Ryan is a remarkable short animated documentary by Chris Landreth that blends 3D CGI animation with psychologically expressive character design to depict the tragic life of Canadian animator Ryan Larkin. Its cinematography and visual approach are genuinely exceptional — characters are rendered with visible psychological damage, crumbling and distorted in ways that mirror their inner states, making it one of the most visually inventive animated documentaries ever made. Novelty is very high: the 'psychorealism' technique is utterly singular and unlike anything else in the documentary or animation space. The plot is modest in scope — an interview-based portrait — and the 'acting' (voice performance/interview subjects) is serviceable but not remarkable. The ending, while poignant, doesn't fully resolve the emotional weight it builds. Overall a genuinely distinctive and celebrated work that won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.