Welcome to Marwen Review
PG-13: For sequences of fantasy violence, some disturbing images, brief suggestive content, thematic material and language
Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures
1 Hr and 56 Minutes
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Writers: Caroline Thompson, Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Janelle Monáe, Eiza Gonzalez, Diane Kruger, Merritt Wever, Neil Jackson,
Release date: December 21, 2018
When a devastating attack shatters Mark Hogancamp (Carell) and wipes away all memories, no one expected recovery. Putting together pieces from his old and new life, Mark meticulously creates a wondrous town where he can heal and be heroic. As he builds an astonishing art installation—a testament to the most powerful women he knows—through his fantasy world, he draws strength to triumph in the real one.
If there’s anything that I can positively express about the film is the fact that Zemeckis’ production company Imagemovers has finally moved on from the uncanny valley in order to replicate small soldiers that are well animated. The CG animation on the dolls is pretty impressive, more so than the visual effects Zemeckis’ studio has done in the last decade. For once the animation and the visual effects look good -- the animated portions, that is. Yes, it is still hella creepy which is normal for the relationship between audiences and the VFX of Imagemovers movies, but it’s better looking than… this:
Earlier this year, we had “Life, Itself” which was a pretentious drama that tried so hard to be a tearjerker but resulted to be one of the dumbest films of the year… until now. “Welcome to Marwen” attempts to tug on your heartstrings with its sentimentality, from its super saccharine story (or lack thereof) to the distracting Alan Silvestri score, and mostly it's spoonfed visuals that try to be smart but you can see elements from miles away. In the beginning of the film, we learn everything we need to know about Mark Hogancamp in one shot of him looking through his scrapbook where it establishes who he used to be and what his life was before his attack. Everything you need is in the scrapbook, which details his character, but then it wants to spoon feed you with a prolonged animated sequence to give you more about him, as if you didn’t already know enough.
For a drama with such a big budget and a lot of visual pizazz the presented narrative is dull. While reading upon the real Mark Hogancamp I found him to be a very interesting man and was told that the 2010 doc, “Welcome to Marwencol” was good, so there should’ve been a much stronger angle than the one told. The story is mostly Mark working up the nerve to attend the court hearing of the assault. Through the various subplots revolving around his dolls, his affection towards his new neighbor, and his drug addiction, the central story is Mark overcoming his trauma to go to court which makes for a very uninteresting movie. Out of all the trajectories this film could’ve taken, it took the most unimaginative route possible. By the time Mark is established, the events of his attack have already occurred. With the film’s focal point not being anything enticing a lot of the film is very dull. It’s very cringeworthy throughout, if not even more discerning than “Life, Itself”, but for the most part it’s really boring.
You have this man with brain damage who was the victim of a hate crime. Just that alone makes Mark a sympathetic character, but Zemeckis doesn’t characterize him to be either a relatable nor likable character for the audience to resonate with. Why? Well, to quote Radiohead:
Zemeckis has good intentions conceptually of having a team of women be the saving grace of this recovering man, but as it’s executed Mark himself is portrayed to be problematically perverted as he not only fetishizes these women, but everyone is there to either applaud him because he was violently assaulted or walk on eggshells around him while you’re creeped out. There’s a scene where he’s fixing up his Nicol figurine and “Yummy Yummy Yummy” by Ohio Express plays in the background and it’s hella uncomfortable. The film establishes that this is a man who likes to crossdress and was beaten nearly to death because of it, but its never prioritized that this is his major issue on his path to self acceptance at all.
Just because the guy has brain damage doesn’t mean he should be depicted as this creepy pervert, for that’s such a major disrespectful disservice to the real life subject. It is apparent that this man is suffering, but at the same time he’s so odd that you have to wince at him and all that relates to his town of Marwen. What makes this even more unbearably uncomfortable is this eerie infatuation with his new neighbor (played by Leslie Mann) and not only does that plot go nowhere except to a creepy area that just makes you cringe, but you end up unliking Hoagie in the process, brain damage or not as the film leaves you reacting with.
The film keeps begging you to sympathize with Mark because he was beaten into brain damage but they keep having him act so weird and lowkey perverted that I was completely unable to let myself get attached to him at all, injury or not. It comes across as extremely offensive to be honest. Despite whatever good intentions Zemeckis had with Mark’s story, for one to think that getting brain damage makes you a completely different person who is weird and creepy is really inconsiderate and it doesn’t feel like much effort or research was put into the script.
Poor Steve Carell delivers a fine performance but the material he’s given is flat and lacks anything special. He’s in “Vice” which is released a few days after this and he’s far superior in that and he’s not even the lead of the film.
The real women that inspired Mark’s dolls are aware of the resemblance and, oddly enough, they’re delivered to him manufactured to resemble the people in his life, including himself. He goes to a store that sells action figures where a character named Regina (Merritt Wever) who works at the front register and heavily pines for him and is filled with dolls who coincidentally have features that look like the people in his life. What the hell company manufactures these real life dolls?! Definitely not Mattel.
As much as I’m praising (well, backhanded complimenting) the visual effects, they add absolutely nothing to the story. As a matter of fact, the film often feels to be at war with itself between its blend of CGI and live action. The different divisions of the film, from the live action to the animation segments, barely tend to correlate and not only aren’t either of them that engaging, but they also feel like two separate movies. It honestly felt as if Zemeckis wanted to make this drama a fully CG film but didn’t have the budget to do it because of “Mars Needs Mom” screwing up his department.
Outside of Leslie Mann, a ton of the supporting cast is barely present in the live action portion of the narrative. Janelle Monae and Gwendoline Christie physically appear in only one scene and are absent from the rest of the film. They still voice their figurine counterparts but you never get the sense of why Mark has chosen these people to be in his world of Marwen. There’s no authentic connection between him and these so called powerful women.
Then, the editing is poor where some shots aren’t fully rendered as some frames are dropped in sequences that should just move along smoothly. Even in the animated portions, which are poorly constructed, there are weirdly edited shots that linger on after a character is done delivering their dialogue.
In the third act, the movie has the nerve to incorporate (I shit you not) a “Back to the Future” reference that has nothing to do with the story at all and it’s so angering and peaks the cringe meter. I was already holding this sign while watching the film,
But that pushed it. At that point, the film delves from disappointing to downright embarrassing. Embarrassing due to the fact that Zemeckis has used his own previous film to help move along the narrative of the current film that you’re watching with no real effect or purpose other than “HEY! THE DIRECTOR OF THIS DID THAT!” It’s as humiliating as when DeNiro did his “Taxi Driver” line in “Rocky and Bullwinkle”.
For a filmmaker as visionary as Robert Zemeckis, it’s disappointing to see how half-assed the entire project is. Hell, I’ll even argue that this movie is unfinished. The script is not fully developed as it plays like a first draft hampered with terrible dialogue, a very unstructured story, and loose characterization that would’ve been beneficial if more attention to detail was paid.
Underdeveloped, artificial, and uncomfortable, “Welcome to Marwen” is super plastic and it's nowhere near fantastic.
Rating: 1.5/5 | 35%
Super Scene: The opening sequence
