Welcome To Marwen

Well Happy New Year to you all and welcome to 2019 which, as I’m sure you’ve seen as you can’t move for think-pieces on the subject, is bound to be a quite incredible year for cinema.

The giddy heights that some of 2018’s best films took us to seem merely a precursor to 2019’s amalgamation of peaks: the end of the Infinity War, the end of the Skywalker saga and a talking Pikachu.

Without further ado then, we’re welcomed into the new year by a returning Robert Zemeckis and an uplifting and beautiful portrayal of PTSD, anxiety and grief that is Welcome To Marwen.

Harrowingly, this is the true story of Mark Hogancamp, an illustrator who was beaten half to death by a gang for his penchant for women’s shoes.

Zemeckis’ portrayal begins after the fact with Hogancamp’s self-therapy involving an elaborate model village and dolls that he uses to tell the story of ‘Hogie’ (a WW2 Captain based on himself) through photography. This is the genius of the film as we’re shown Hogancamp’s trepidation about his upcoming court appearance following the attack, mixed with animated scenes telling the story of Hogie which come across like Small Soldiers on steroids.

Steve Carell has always been one of our most eminently watchable actors and he’s superb here in an all-encompassing role. He has to show us Hogancamp’s inner trauma and does so in a nuanced, subtle performance as well as voicing his animated counterpart.

Alongside him are the ‘women of Marwen’ (the aforementioned fictional village) who are all based on important figures in Hogancamp’s life. Because of the wide range of the film we don’t get to see as much of Janelle Monae and Gwendoline Christie as their interesting characters warrant but Leslie Mann and Merritt Weaver are both fantastic as Hogancamp’s new neighbour and the store assistant who helps him source his dolls respectively.

It’s a difficult film to write about without giving too much away but suffice to say it’s a well-rounded and pitched story and portrays anxiety in an original and relatable way.

The animated scenes are beautifully realised but the blend of the two works well and you’re never disappointed to be thrown back into the real world.

There’s a few plot threads that are dangled and then unfortunately left to hang; as aforementioned some characters are given short-shift, Hogancamp’s past is alluded to but not fully explored and a stalker boyfriend character is introduced but swiftly dropped.

Despite this though it’s a beautiful watch and a great way to start what looks like a great year.

4 stars ****