The next movie on my winter break list was Welcome to Marwen. I was really looking forward to this but I didn't like as much as I thought I would. This movie tells the true story of Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell), an artist who creates and photographs a miniature village called Marwen to deal with the PTSD he suffers after a vicious assault. In the scenarios he creates with dolls in Marwen, Mark becomes Captain Hogie, a WWII pilot, who is continually attacked by Nazis, who represent his actual attackers, and saved by the women in his life: Roberta (Merritt Weaver), who works at the hobby shop where he purchases items for the village, Anna (Gwendoline Christie), his Russian caregiver, Caralala (Eiza Gonzalez), a waitress at the bar where he works, Julie (Janelle Monae), his physical therapist, and Nicol (Leslie Mann), his new neighbor across the street. The village also includes a Belgian witch named Deja Thoris (Diane Kruger) who keeps bringing the Nazis back to life and won't let him get close to anyone. Mark must find a way to confront Deja, the doll in Marwen and what she represents in real life (which is easy to figure out if you can match colors), so he can face his attackers. It is a compelling story and Carell gives an affecting performance but there is just something missing. Most of the of the movie, unfortunately, takes place in Marwen. It is almost as if the filmmakers wanted to show off their dazzling stop-motion animation techniques with the dolls more than they wanted to tell Mark's story. I was left wanting to know more about Mark and the women in his life rather than their alter-egos who act out battle after battle. Also, there are quite a few subplots that are brought up but then quickly abandoned without resolution, particularly the fate of his attackers after their sentencing hearing. I can't help but feel that Mark's story is more interesting than this Hollywood version of it (I've heard there is a documentary called Marwencol which chronicles this story much better).
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