LIVING WITH A VISIONARY is playing at SBIFF (Santa Barbara International Film Festival), and I had the opportunity to see an early look. Here’s my spoiler-free take:
A short animated film hasn’t hit me as hard as LIVING WITH A VISIONARY since IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU. Stephen P. Neary’s animated adaptation of John Matthias’ memoir, published in the New Yorker, is flawless and easily the best film I’ve seen at SBIFF so far. I’ll go even one step further and say that I know the year has just started, yet this short feature should be nominated for a Best Short Film Animated Oscar, and easily make its way onto my top ten list by the end of 2026.
James Cromwell narrates the movie and captures a fifty-year marriage between John and Diana as they grapple with aging, Parkinson’s disease, and COVID. With SHRINKING and now LIVING WITH A VISIONARY, it’s encouraging to see more filmmakers tackle this hellish disease. Neary’s direction shines in his ability to bring intimacy and genuine emotion to each scene, and in how he captures Parkinson’s hallucinations with beauty, horror, tenderness, and love. It’s enough to make anyone shed a few tears by the film’s close (I know that I did).
Most of the time, we see someone get sick and the trials and tribulations it brings. Yet, in LIVING WITH A VISIONARY, both John and Diana get equal time as they grapple with the hardships they’ve been presented with. John’s words, eloquently spoken by James Cromwell, reflect the resilience and profound love shared between him and Diana.
Final Thought: LIVING WITH A VISIONARY reminded me of what it means to love and be alive. John and Diana’s fifty-year marriage is beautifully told in an animated short that I’ll be rewatching and keep an eye on come next award season.
