Welcome to Marwen-2018
Director Robert Zemeckis
Starring Steve Carell, Leslie Mann
Scott’s Review #892
Reviewed May 1, 2019
Grade: B
Welcome to Marwen (2018) is a feature film that flew under the radar at the time of release, suffering from mostly poor, if not scathing, reviews.
Having debuted in the last quarter of the year, the anticipation was assuredly for Oscar love, but this was not to be, as the film was a box office and critical disappointment.
Despite a marvelous and sympathetic portrayal by Steve Carell and bold creativity in the animation, the film lags and misfires in the storytelling, never completely coming together despite a heartfelt effort.
Based on a powerful true story chronicled much better in documentary form, the film follows Mark Hogancamp (Carell), a man struggling with post-traumatic stress syndrome after being physically assaulted.
He creates a fictional village to deal with his violent trauma as a form of escapism. Mark teeters between fantasy and reality as his various action figures mirror both himself and other people in his life, from the benevolent – his pretty new next-door neighbor, Nicol (Leslie Mann) – to the malicious – his attackers.
Director Zemeckis is no stranger to cool and innovative visual effects. Having created films like Back to the Future (1985), Death Becomes Her (1992), and Forrest Gump (1994), his track record is proven.
Though far from a masterpiece, Welcome to Marwen’s most outstanding achievement is its look, with stunning and realistic figurines coming to life with splendid effect.
The modified fashion dolls are morphed into action heroes, livening up the film and making it a spectacle compared to the morose everyday life that Mark lives in.
As Mark frequently escapes into his soothing, self-created fantasy world, named Marwen, the mostly female characters are strong, resilient, and protective of him. He even embarks on a fantasy romance with Nicol and faces both sweet moments with her as well as a peril from Nazis.
The negative to the fantasy sequences is in the climax, as Zemeckis teeters too broadly towards a full-fledged action film with over-the-top segments and an overly lengthy battle scene.
The real-life scenes don’t work as well, as Mark’s small-town residence is gloomy and depressing, offering little interest. Presumed to be two hours outside of New York City, the reason Nicol moves to the town is never explained, and her true intentions remain mysterious.
The presence of her aggressive ex-boyfriend seems forced, and Mark’s romantic interest in her becomes awkward. The main drawback is a lack of romantic chemistry between Carell and Mann, which results in little reason to root for the pair to be together.
The film contains an admirable progressive slant as Mark, while straight in his sexuality, is enamored with women’s shoes and collects hundreds of sensible and erotic pairs.
The key to his attack as briefly shown via flashback is his boasting to redneck types while inebriated, his love of the shoes. This plot point is essential to the film, yet not fleshed out well. What do we know about his attackers? Did they assume Mark was gay, prompting the attack?
Since the attack is deemed a hate crime, we can only assume the answer is yes, but I had hoped for a bit more depth and more about Mark’s backstory.
Based on the 2010 documentary Marwencol, Welcome to Marwen (2018) is a production that asks the viewer to revel in a wonderful fantasy world and marvel at the resulting creativity, escaping into a life-like adventure zone.
The story remains uneven with a bandied-about romance that never comes together, uneven storytelling, and a mediocre conclusion. While I admire Welcome to Marwen’s intentions, the film ultimately falls short of delivering.