A quick synopsis of ‘Welcome to Marwen’ could be that the movie is an unusual but inspiring story about an unfortunate situation that happened to an exceptional illustrator turned famous photographer. However, it’s much more. Why he became a photographer is where the heart of the story lies. The film, directed by Robert Zemeckis of ‘Back to the Future’ fame, is based on the true story of Mark Hogencamp (Carell), who was beaten severely by five men. He was attacked after drinking too much, at the bar he frequented, led to his talking too much.  To these strangers he had just met he mentions a little something he likes to do to be closer to women, or as he put it, feel their essence. He admits to wearing high heels. Shocking the men, they call him queer and assault him, each delivering punches that cause severe trauma to his body, most importantly to his head. The blows were so distressing to him that Mark no longer has a memory of anything before the attack… not even of who he was. To handle what it went through, his brain dumped everything that wasn’t essential to survival. Because of this, Mark can no longer draw as he had before or even function normally. A nurse has to go to his residence to check up on him because he has no true sense of how to care for himself properly.

 Seemingly wanting to work through the worst of it in some capacity, he still practices art but now it’s more cathartic for him. Instead of paper and pencil, Mark uses dolls and a camera. He’s turned his backyard into the imaginary town of Marwen in Belgium during WWII. In this town he’s built a world where he, or the doll of himself named ‘Hogie,’ is in peril. He photographs the dolls making real-life movements, not unlike what you’d find in a stop-motion film. And in Marwen, unlike in the bar where he was jumped, he gets to stage his rescue. He controls it all. Catching onto this, it doesn’t take long for you to notice that the five men who attacked him are represented here, as well, as five Nazi’s constantly running him down. His eventual salvation always comes by way of female dolls that are characterizations of real women in his life. These women have encouraged or enlightened Mark in some way. Most of them anyway. Enter a new neighbor, Nicol (Mann), who moves in across the street. When she shows up, his depiction of perfection gets shaken up. 

When she enters the picture is also when the movie gets a bit strange. Strange could be either good or bad depending on how you look at things. Dolls are creepy, to begin with, so there’s that, but to be honest, how they’re used here is rather benign. Though the female dolls are exceptional beauties, until Nicol comes along he doesn’t pose them romantically or sexually at all. Well, there is one topless scene but it’s not to satisfy any lust within him. A doll named Deja and the Nicol doll that he creates immediately after meeting her are particularly important. They’re used by Zemeckis to reveal that through them he’s more comfortable communicating what he wants of or what he thinks is the reality in his life. Mark desperately needs someone to remind him that the fiction he has created isn’t real. Art may imitate life to a degree, but it can’t take over or you’ll miss out on genuine opportunities… which Mark almost does. Luckily for him, not everyone feels the need to placate his inner child. The film is heavy at times but very creative and imaginative. Carrel has incredible depth in his performance of this trauma victim. If you enjoy films that carry you away from your daily burden’s, ‘Welcome to Marwen’ will accommodate you quite nicely.

I recommend you drop everything and see this on the big screen immediately! There’s a reason why so many films come out toward the end of the year. Often that logic is based upon the fact that they’ve saved the best for the last. That would be the case here. ‘The Favourite’ is a significant contribution to the films of 2018. It even far surpassed my expectations in fact. It’s masterfully crafted and incredibly well written. The three lead actresses are exceptionally strong in this, the latest work from the skilled raconteur of ‘The Lobster’ and ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer,’ Yorgos Lanthimos.

‘The Favourite’ does have an altogether different spirit from either of his previous films. If you do have a strong opinion of his earlier work, you shouldn’t necessarily base your decision on whether or not to see this on your opinion of them. One reason to sit down and give this a watch that stands out above the others is that those films didn’t have this exceptional trio of women in their cast. These same actresses will now be giving the Academy a difficult choice over who to choose for an award and for which award. Not a bad pickle to be in but one they’ll be in to be sure.

The script by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara was more comical than I had expected it to be which was quite a pleasant surprise. Getting to know the women and fully coming to realize the rivalry between them for the favor of the Queen was as delicious as waiting for a steak to cook that had been marinating all day. The performances undeniably complement the script. That said, some accents can make it hard to understand exactly what they’re saying at times, but this doesn’t distract from your overall enjoyment of the film. You won’t miss the sharp intellect written into the dialogue and the keen wit it took to come up with the story in the first place.

The film is set in England, early in the 18th century. Olivia Colman plays ailing Queen Anne who finds more than just a friendship in Lady Sarah, played by Rachel Weisz. With the position she has put herself, Lady Sarah is essentially running the country. The Queen fully trusts her and makes no decision without her input. Enter young Abigail (Stone) who’s fallen on hard times. She hopes, since they are cousins, Lady Sarah will give her a position in the palace. Jealous of the beautiful young woman, yet enamored with her charms, Sarah gives her work and a place to stay and proceeds to get to know her. With more than kitchen work on her mind, Abigail uses her position with Sarah to get to know the Queen more. Soon, she finds herself in the catbird seat where she accidentally learns more about Sarah and Anne’s relationship than she had bargained for. Being in the right place at the right time, Abigail sees that they’re lovers, as well. She then decides to use this knowledge to her full advantage.

As Abigail moves her piece on the chessboard of life, Sarah starts to get suspicious. The music, politics, relationships, and discourse build from there. The story is impressively structured, and it’ll keep you riveted throughout, enough that I feel confident you’ll walk away possibly considering ‘The Favourite’ one of your favorites for 2018. The ending is pure Lanthimos. When Sarah questions Abigail about whether she thinks she has won, you’re eventually shown what winning would be if she does. A life of being at the queen’s beck and call to rub her ‘leg’ at a moments notice doesn’t sound fun. Is this the life she was looking forward to?

Finally! Something Melissa McCarthy can sink her teeth into! She was impressive in this role. Though I wasn’t fired up to see this for some reason, the story didn’t exactly excite me, I knew she wouldn’t disappoint me. And she did more than delight, she proved she’s worth one of those bright shiny trophies they give away at the end of the season. Not just her but her cohort, supporting actor Richard E. Grant. It’s easy to envision this film walking away with several, not only nominations, but wins.

The film is based on true events that happened in New York in 1991. However, you get the feeling it could be set in any town, in any year and happen to anyone. Nothing about this story tells you that the setting is particularly special to the storyline. I rather liked that approach. McCarthy plays Lee Israel, a real-life writer/biographer who once saw for herself a bright future but ends up being convicted of forgery; something she did to pay the bills. What unravels onscreen is why she did it, how she got away with it as long as she did, who her accomplice was and what her ultimate unraveling ends up being. The forgery was her unraveling, of course, but desperation plays a large part. No longer brave enough to write a book of her own words, she writes about other people.

When we meet her, she’s turned to drinking, loses her job, is behind on her rent and on top of that, has a sick cat named Jersey. Jersey is her world. She would have no one else but Jersey had it not been for running into someone with even worse luck, Jack Hock (Grant), a sickly-looking friend she once had drinks with. He uses that moment to get closer to her and with no one else in her life, she clings to him, too. Perhaps once successful himself, he keeps himself alive these days by selling coke that’s cut mostly with a laxative and lives on the streets. Though you’re happy these two at least have someone, you know this is a disaster waiting to happen.

Hoping to not have to do something extreme to make ends meet, Lee visits her agent Marjorie (Curtain) who gives it to her straight. Lee tells her she is close to finishing her biography on Fannie Brice but Marjorie explains that her subjects and her style are not what people are looking for anymore. She needs to change with the times and come up with something better or she needs to look for work in a different field. Rather than looking inward, Lee turns the blame on Marjorie and drowns her sorrows in more scotch, her favorite pastime. While doing research for her book, Lee finds a letter that’s signed by Fanny Brice. Score! She sells it to the owner of a bookstore and thus begins her life of crime. Being a creative woman, she gets so much money from the sale of the letter, why not try again? She knows the people she has studied very well. She decides she needs to be very detailed about the work and ages the paper, writes something to fit the style of the author and everyone in town falls for it. It works perfectly… until it doesn’t.

Though Lee is a mess and a grump you couldn’t stand to be around more than five minutes, you root for her and that’s because of the relationship director Marielle Heller and Melissa McCarthy accomplished to create before the cameras even started rolling. This deserves Oscar’s attention. I hope he turns his head and takes a look. The soundtrack is beautiful. The structure of the writing is spectacular. The directing is spot on and if you want examples of incredible character acting performances, look no further. It’s all here. The title is also something that intrigued me. Who does Lee want to forgive her? Her ex-girlfriend, her agent, the friends she’s always cranky toward, the people she defrauded or is it herself?