NOW IN THEATERS

ANOMALISA

Screenwriter and director Charlie Kaufman’s adultthemed animated feature takes place over the course of a single night and tells the story of Michael Stone (voiced by David Thewlis), author of a book on customer service, and the brief affair he has with Lisa Hesselman (voiced Jennifer Jason Leigh), a shy, self-deprecating fan he meets at a hotel the night before delivering a conference talk. The rest of the characters are voiced by Tom Noonan. The title is a cross between “anomaly” and “Lisa,” and the film is an anomaly itself, an understated, funny, and ultimately tragic emotional drama that’s in line with the themes of Kaufman’s earlier films ( Synecdoche, New York; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) but not their mind-bending story lines.

Rated R. 90 minutes. Violet Crown. (Michael Abatemarco)

THE AMAZING NINA SIMONE

The life of incomparable singer, songwriter, and pianist Nina Simone is exhaustively explored in this documentary, with a focus on her role in the civil-rights movement. The film paints her as an artist full of passion and