Universal Pictures
Robert Zemeckis directs Steve Carell in the true story of Mark Hogancamp, who was beaten outside of a bar for the shoes he likes to wear. He lost his memory and the ability to draw and write. Mark Hogancamp found a therapeutic outlet by creating dolls and taking photos of them in a WWII setting. In Mark’s fantasy world, his hard-plastic American solider alter-ego, Hogie, battles Nazis to protect the women that make up the world of Marwen. The women of Mawen represent women Mark knows in real life and who have left an impact on his life. As Mark faces court trials against the men who beat him, he must come to terms with his life and how to move forward.
I was looking forward to seeing this new drama just based off the two trailers I have seen. The last trailer I saw featured the song ‘Spirits’ by the Strumbellas and I thought it was a lovely combination that left me intrigued. I am a fan of Zemeckis’ work from Back to the Future to Forrest Gump. Zemeckis creates inspiring movies based on true stories and has crafted another wonderful film.
Welcome to Marwen is a touching story of how art can heal someone. The beating Mark endured left him unable to draw and wiped out most of his memories. Mark keeps a scrapbook of past moments of his life, which included a marriage, divorce, and plenty of alcohol. Even though Mark had plenty of friends and co-workers to care for him, he felt alone in the world after his attack. Through creating the world of Marwen with citizens that reside there, he was able to fill that void. Hogancamp meets Nicol, a redhead who moves in across the street from him. They strike up a friendly relationship that eventually helps Mark grow. I love the progression of Mark’s character and how Hogie played out those scenes in Marwen. Whatever Mark was doing in his life, it was played out in Marwen by Hogie, which allowed for Mark to overcome his fears by acting it out with Hogie.
The animation for the film was stunning with the dolls being portrayed by motion capturing by their respective actors and actresses. Most of the film takes place in Marwen and all the added details to the world brought it to life. There were many funny scenes that showed how dolls would get hurt, which is not near as painful looking as how humans get hurt. I also liked how the world looked and all the time Mark put into crafting the world. Many of the different locations were impressive and you can tell a lot of love went into the small town.
Steve Carell gives a touching and heartbreaking performance. I just finished watching The Office for the second time this year, so Carell’s Michael Scott is stuck in my head. Carrell has shown us before that he can give a serious performance as well as a comedic performance. Carrell provided a performance that had me cheering for the character.
The film is filled with metaphors and what each doll represents to Mark’s life. I spent most of the time analyzing certain scenes in my head and trying to figure out what it meant. The WWII story in Marwen was based around Mark’s encounter with his attackers and many figures represented certain parts of his life. The movie opened with the dolls fighting off Nazis and I was wondering the significance of the storyline. As the film progressed, I understood the story more and I appreciated the integration of the story with the dolls.
The several women that live in Marwen all represent people Mark knows. Actresses such as Janelle Monae, Eiza Gonzalez, and Gwendoline Christine appear in the film but never feel important to the story. Their brief performance left me wanting more from the women of Marwen. Every lady that resides in Marwen had their human counterpart appear in a scene, except for Mark’s favorite adult film star. The dolls had more screen time than the actresses who portrayed them. I wish there was more time from Mark’s real-life friends because I would have felt a connection to the dolls that lived in Marwen.
Welcome to Marwen is a moving story about love, loss, and acceptance and each theme was handled nicely. The true story is equal parts heartbreaking as it is heartwarming. Zemeckis offers an inside look at how different people heal, and delivers a thoughtful approach to the world of Marwen. It’s a shame this movie bombed at the box office because it is an emotional film that needs to be seen.
Welcome to Marwen has a run time of 1 hour 56 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence, some disturbing images, brief suggestive content, thematic material and language.
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