Welcome to Marwen is the dramatization of artist Mark Hogancamp's life. It was previously told by Jeff Malmberg in his 2010 documentary, Marwencol. In 2000, Mark (Steve Carell) was beaten outside a bar by five guys who he met earlier. All because he told them he liked wearing women's shoes. Mark was left physically impaired and amnesiac. Mark finds therapy by creating a miniature WWII Belgian village called Marwen. He uses dolls to stage the adventures of one Captain Hogie and his all-female companions (representing different women in his life) as they battle the Nazis (representing his attackers). There's also a witch named Deja Thoris (Dianne Kruger) who wants Hogie for herself and will go after any woman in her way.
A few years later, where the film actually opens, Mark is suffering from PTSD. He's having second thoughts about attending the sentencing hearing of his attackers. A nice neighbor named Nicol (Leslie Mann) moves across the street. Mark incorporates her into her Marwen world. But things don't work out as easily in real life. How will he move forward?
Director Robert Zemeckis co-wrote the screenplay with Caroline Thompson. There's some great concepts with questionable executions. A few examples:
3. The real life "women of Marwen" mostly barely feature in the film. Certain ones, like hobby shop owner Roberta (Merritt Wever) and Carlala (Eiza Gonzalez), actually are present. A few others, including Mark's rehab therapist Julie (Janelle Monae), feature in one scene each. Even Wendy (Stefanie von Pfetten), the "wen" in "Marwen," barely factors in it. The actresses also play their doll counterparts for the fantasy sequences, so they're still around.
2. The film takes a while before it depicts Mark's attack. But it doesn't spend enough time depicting the immediate aftermath. How did he meet the real life women of Marwen? What happened between Wendy and Mark? How did he come up with Marwen? These questions are glanced over in a case of Tell, not Show. Which is not as satisfying as showing.
1. But most problematic is its tone. Mark's fantasy sequences are riveting and creative. We get mood whiplash when fantasy switches to the real world or bleeds into it. These transitions are more odd than scary. Mark panics when he sees a new Nazi figure named Kurt, the same name as Nicol's stalker ex. He imagines Kurt coming alive to taunt him. Why? He wasn't part of the attack. Kurt's subplot, by the way, isn't resolved.
But I'll give the visual effects team credit. The transitions from reality to fantasy are executed flawlessly. Nothing is technically out of place when, for example, the ringleader of Mark's attackers morphs into his Marwen Nazi counterpart. Or when Captain Hogie driving his jeep shifts to real Mark pulling the toy jeep. The fantasy characters are convincingly realistic dolls. A few might get put off by the uncanny valley, but they didn't bother me. As I see it, the doll aesthetic actually softens the uncanny valleyness. It's easy to see why the Academy shortlisted this for the Visual Effects Oscar.
The cast is acceptable. Steve Carell is likable and sympathetic as Mark. His fears are understandable even if they're not fully explored. The women of Marwen are a good bunch in the real and fantasy worlds. Kruger's Deja Thoris is a delightfully over-the-top villainess. The attackers aren't given much character even as we see one of them moved by Mark's victim impact statement. Conrad Coates was also good as Mark's lawyer Mr. Johnson.
Welcome to Marwen is a flawed, yet fascinating story of a man coping with trauma. The uneven blend of reality and fantasy doesn't do the story favors. But the story has some effort in it. There's even a great pun or two in the dialogue. "Cow-lateral damage." See it if you want. It's not outstanding but it wasn't dull either.
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