Welcome to Marwen (2018)

Directed by: Robert Zemeckis | 115 minutes | biography, comedy | Actors: Steve Carell, Falk Hentschel, Matt O’Leary, Nikolai Witschl, Patrick Roccas, Alexander Lowe, Eiza González, Leslie Zemeckis, Merritt Wever, Gwendoline Christie, Stefanie von Pfetten, Janelle Monáe, Leslie Mann, Neil Jackson, Diane Kruger,

When a comedian goes serious, it can result in beautiful cinema. Take the late Robin Williams now. Behind his busy mannerisms and ADHD humor was also a talented dramatic actor. Just look at his creepy role in ‘One Hour Photo’ or his subdued portrayal in ‘The Night Listener’. Williams had two sides. Steve Carell has also long proven that he can’t just play the joke. His crazy character from ‘Anchorman’ stands in stark contrast to his layered portrayal in a film like ‘Looking For a Friend For The End Of The World’. Carell comes into its own especially in more in-depth roles. In ‘Welcome To Marwen’, the American comedian once again plays a serious role and again makes an impression.

In ‘Welcome To Marwen’ Carell takes on the role of Mark Hogancamp. This man is real and has a ‘special’ past to say the least. He was severely beaten because of his fondness for women’s shoes. This severe abuse traumatized Hogencamp enormously, so that he was no longer able to perform his job as a comics artist. In order to process these violent events, he decided to plunge into a fantasy world. In his garden he made a miniature village called Marwen, where he films the WWII adventures of his alter ego Cap’n Hogie with the help of dolls and a photo camera. He tried to work through his psychological trauma. Luck seems to smile on him when he meets Nicol, his new neighbor across the street.

The synopsis sounds too absurd to be true, but Hogancamp is real. Robert Zemeckis – once a brilliant director with titles like ‘Back To The Future’ and ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ to his credit – fails to tell a coherent story. Without prior knowledge, this film is not very easy to follow and that is a shame. A real shame, because Carell is in great shape. He knows how to give a somewhat strange and pathetic figure a human face and never falls into caricature play. Even the semi-mandatory love story line can still be called acceptable thanks to his playing. ‘Welcome To Marwen’ is not bad, but in this ‘not bad’ film a true masterpiece is hidden that cannot be revealed due to the confused direction. Highly recommended for Carell fans.