Leah Nelson’s first animated feature, an adaptation of Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir, opened to audiences this month at Cannes, putting a quiet, personal portrait of dementia into a major festival spotlight. The film reframes intimate memories into animation, and its arrival at Cannes and next month’s Annecy lineup matters because it brings conversations about caregiving and early-onset Alzheimer’s to a broader public stage.
Based on Leavitt’s memoir, the film follows Sarah, a young artist who leaves a vibrant life in 1990s San Francisco to return to her small hometown when her mother’s personality begins to fade. The narrative tracks the everyday dislocations of watching a parent’s identity change, rather than turning the illness into spectacle.
From page to screen
Nelson, a Vancouver-based filmmaker, optioned the graphic memoir and used one recurring image from the book as a creative anchor: a small, crumbling patch of ground drawn beneath characters at the moment they learn of the diagnosis. That visual became a running motif for the film’s emotional geography — a way to show the shock and instability families feel without oversimplifying the experience.
The adaptation process proved demanding. The book’s structure—fragments, vignettes and spare drawings—did not easily map onto a conventional screenplay. Nelson and Leavitt expanded the material with additional scenes drawn from the author’s life, and brought on a screenwriter to shape the narrative for a feature length. To translate the memoir’s delicate line work into motion, the team recruited French illustrator and animation director Manddy Wyckens to build a more cinematic palette while maintaining the book’s spirit.
Voice cast and recording choices
The film’s voice roster includes Abbi Jacobson as Sarah, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Seth Rogen, Samira Wiley and Beanie Feldstein among the cast. Several supporting roles are filled by familiar comedic and dramatic voices, including Pamela Adlon, Wanda Sykes and Sarah Silverman. In a deliberate creative choice, the actors recorded together in the same room to capture natural overlaps, interruptions and the texture of family conversation.
- Title: Tangles
- Source: Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir
- Director: Leah Nelson
- World premiere: Cannes Special Screening, May 14
- Next festival: In Competition at Annecy (June)
- Key cast: Abbi Jacobson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Seth Rogen
- Production note: Giant Ant studio; animation led by Manddy Wyckens
- Sales: Charades handling international rights; CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group for domestic
Personal stakes and activism
Producers on the film brought personal connections to the subject. Lauren Miller Rogen, whose family has been affected by early-onset Alzheimer’s, and Vicky Patel, who lost a parent to the disease and later helped fundraise for brain research, joined Nelson in shaping the project. Their involvement steered the film toward caregiver perspectives and the small, often-overlooked sacrifices made by young family members balancing life and responsibility.
For Miller Rogen, who co-founded the nonprofit Hilarity for Charity, the story resonated as a rare depiction of youth in the caregiver role. The producers hoped the film would speak not only to families touched by dementia but to anyone who has put personal plans on hold to care for a loved one.
How the film treats memory and empathy
Rather than attempting to dramatize the inner experience of a person with dementia, Nelson’s film keeps the camera at a careful distance. Scenes portray Midge’s subtle unraveling as observed by those around her, while offering full access to Sarah’s perspective—her memories, anxieties and imaginings. Nelson has described this boundary as ethical: the filmmakers cannot claim to depict what is literally happening inside another person’s mind, but they can render how those changes are remembered and felt.
The filmmakers retained the memoir’s gentle, offbeat humor and its moments of tenderness, aiming for an emotional realism that avoids melodrama. That balance—between sorrow and warmth, confusion and clarity—is central to the film’s tone.
Why it matters now
Animated films about adult topics have gained more attention in recent years; placing a story about dementia into that medium expands how audiences can engage with illness, memory and family dynamics. With festival exposure and active sales negotiations, the film could reach international viewers at a time when rates of dementia and the visibility of caregiving issues remain public-health and social priorities.
For viewers and policymakers, the film underscores practical consequences: younger caregivers may need more resources, flexible supports and recognition. For families, it offers a representation of the small daily negotiations—frustration, humor, grief—that often define life with a parent or grandparent who is losing aspects of themselves.
As Tangles moves from festivals toward wider release, its combination of personal testimony, layered animation and a collaborative production team positions it as both an artistic statement and a conversation starter about an illness that affects millions worldwide.
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Hello, I’m Declan. I share my film reviews and discoveries with you to enrich your moviegoing experience.