Welcome to Marwen

Starring: Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Diane Kruger, Eiza Gonzalez, Merritt Wever, Janelle Monae, Gwendoline Christie, Falk Hentschel, Matt O'Leary, Stefanie von Pfetten, Nikolai Witschl, Patrick Roccas
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A brutal hate crime leaves a photographer (Steve Carell) nearly dead. He finds recovery and sanctuary in photographing dolls who live in a miniature village during World War II.

Review:

Tim: Man, I'm not sure how to characterize Robert Zemeckis' Welcome to Marwen. On the one hand, this is a tragic, sad story that also has an uplifting message. In that vein, this is a movie well worth seeing to help audiences transport themselves into another human being and consider tolerance and acceptance of people who are different or don't adhere to the usual social norms. You feel good about that aspect of the movie. The visuals are impressive, too, but there's something that just doesn't work here. It feels like the movie tries to do too much and I'm not sure who the movie is really for. It's the kind of film I'm mostly glad I watched, but I certainly have no desire to ever see again. While there's some things to like about this movie, the end result feels a bit lackluster.

In many ways, I was surprised by how sad the movie was. The protagonist is a talented artist who also enjoys women's shoes. He mentions this at a bar one night, where he is subsequently severely beaten within an inch of his life. He survives the attack but he'll never be the same again. Much of the movie is him dealing with the aftermath. It's legitimately sad to ruminate on this man who is trying to cope with what happened to him and find a path forward. I'm not suggesting movies can't be sad, but it's hard to watch some of those scenes. I certainly felt a good deal of sympathy for this character, but I can't say I was so invested in him or his fantasy world to have especially enjoyed the journey he goes on.

The visual effects in the film are impressive. The cast show up as dolls for many scenes in the movie and I have to applaud the visual effects team. I've never quite seen anything like this. Now, while this is definitely a positive, there is something a little creepy about the visuals as well. Seeing the actors as fairly realistic dolls is a little off putting. Knowing that these scenes were all pure fantasy, I never got that invested in them. Sure, it was interesting to consider how these scenes were really the main character's psyche working through issues. But, what did it matter what happened in those scenes? If a doll "died", why should we care? Other than rooting against the Nazis because they are Nazis, what was our motivation for caring about these scenes? It's like we have extended dream sequences all throughout the film- none of them really matter. It was fun to see them depicted visually, but they weren't very engaging.

Steve Carell does a really good job in the lead role. He buries himself in this character. I felt bad, though, because the movie around him didn't live up to what he was trying to do. It felt like he was working hard to give an Academy Award worthy performance but the film would never be strong enough to allow that to happen. Leslie Mann was solid in a supporting performance. It's a bit of a thankless role, but she puts effort in. Diane Kruger was fine, but she's a doll in the entire movie, which somewhat limits her effectiveness. Janelle Monae was decent. I liked seeing Gwendoline Christie, but she's in the film for one scene and never shows up again. That felt a little odd. As a whole, the cast was fine, but Zemeckis doesn't get everything he can out of them.

Welcome to Marwen certainly has some strengths and the visuals are worth seeing. However, the movie as a whole felt like a letdown. I wasn't very excited about seeing down to watch the movie in the first place (it just looked like a bizarre film that didn't offer a compelling reason to see it). I worked hard to go into it with an open mind, but it ended up being as lackluster as I originally expected. I wanted to like this movie more, but it's not especially good. It has some valuable lessons, so it's not a worthless movie- it's just one that you would expect to have been better.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Beowulf, The Polar Express, The Walk, Beautiful Boy