ReelBob: ‘Welcome to Marwen’ ★★★
By Bob Bloom
I would surmise the vast majority of people think of dolls as playthings for little girls.
Boys have dolls, as well, but society tends to refer to them as “action figures” — it sounds more masculine, I guess.
In the past few years, dolls have taken on a therapeutic function — for example, helping young child abuse victims identify where they were inappropriately touched.
The healing benefits of dolls is at the center of Robert Zemeckis’ “Welcome to Marwen,” a drama with fantasy overtones that stars Steve Carell as a broken man, desperately trying to cope with a new life after his old one was literally beaten out of him.
“Marwen” is based on the story of Mark Hogancamp, an illustrator who was viciously attacked by five young men in what came to be described as a hate crime. He was beaten because he drunkenly admitted that he enjoys wearing women’s shoes.
Hogancamp (Carell) is suffering from PTSD. He has no real memories of his life before the attack and has been a semi-recluse in its aftermath.
He has coped by creating a miniature town in his yard and populating it with dolls of the women who have played powerful and important roles in his life.
“I was beaten up because I was different, so I built a place where I can heal,” Hogancamp says of Marwen.
The town, located in Belgium during World War II, houses Capt. Hoagie (Carell) and a group of women freedom fighters from various Allied nations who seem to continually be battling Nazis.
What sets “Marwen” apart is how Zemeckis, who cowrote the script with Caroline Thompson, has tapped into Hogancamp’s imagination to recreate on film what Hogancamp experiences in his head.
The movie’s technical expertise, at times, overwhelms the story, almost making us forget that we are viewing through the lens of a traumatized man.
Hogancamp is under a lot of stress. The sentencing hearing for the men who beat him is approaching, and his lawyer is pushing him to attend and make a witness statement to the court.
But Hogancamp cannot bring himself to face his attackers and continues to demur, despite the encouragement of his friends.
Zemeckis draws you right in with an opening sequence that sets the tone for the rest of the movie, introducing us to Hogancamp’s make-believe world, while also providing the exposition needed to understand his circumstances.
Carell makes you feel for Hogancamp. He was a first-class illustrator, specializing in World War II images, whose ability was destroyed because of a malicious act of violence.
Now, he is a scarred man, fearful of the outside world, jumping at noises that trigger flashbacks to his beating.
Helping keep him as stable as possible are the various women around him, including his new neighbor, Nicol (Leslie Mann), who offers friendship and kindness; Roberta (Merritt Wever), owner of the hobby store where he buys his dolls, who continually encourages his slow recovery; Gwendoline Christie as Anna, the home-care helper who looks in on him when necessary; Janelle Monae as a fellow patient who aided Hogancamp during recovery; Carlala (Eiza Gonzalez), his coworker at a local bar where he works a few days a week; and Suzette (Leslie Zemeckis), his favorite actress.
Most of them are drawn rather sketchily, serving more as props to aid Hogancamp and — in his imagination — Capt. Hoagie.
Hogancamp and Hogie’s main antagonist is Marwen’s Belgian witch, Deja Thoris, who continually brings the Nazis Hoagie and the women have killed back to life, so they can perpetually plague them all. Deja Thoris is played by Diane Kruger; whose dark and sinister performance gives the movie its edge.
“Welcome to Marwen” is an offbeat movie, showing how one brain-damaged individual copes with his disability as well as — with the assist of his village of friends — finding the strength and courage to move forward.
It is a poignant movie that will touch your heart and, despite some somber aspects, spotlight the goodness and compassion of others who unite to help lift a friend out of the mental quagmire in which he is drowning.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook,Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
WELCOME TO MARWEN
3 stars out of 4
(PG-13), mature themes, fantasy violence, disturbing images, language and suggestive material