Since the beginning of his career, director Robert Zemeckis has enjoyed playing around with the innovations and possibilities of new filmmaking technology. He's like James Cameron, except without the billion dollar grosses or uncontrollable ego. Zemeckis' love for VFX and motion capture has wielded both positive and negative results over the years. In the win column, Zemeckis gave us the Back to the Future series (I'm just pretending that Part III doesn't exist), Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and Forrest Gump, films that range from "good" to "masterpiece." But for every smash hit, Zemeckis delivered something like The Polar Express or A Christmas Carol, two visually unpleasant experiments that were lambasted by critics and rejected by audiences. After dabbling in the realm of adult dramas for a few years (with the exception of The Walk, a movie made almost specifically for IMAX screens), Zemeckis is returning to mo-cap territory with Welcome to Marwen, an adaptation of the documentary Marwencol. Earlier today, Universal released the first trailer for the holiday release- watch it below!
Basically, this looks like Anomalisa by way of a WWII movie. It's really something, and I don't entirely know how I feel about it.
When I first saw the trailer, I was completely offput by the film's mixture of real actors and.....whatever those dolls are doing. Welcome to Marwen looks like one of the most bizarre films of 2018, and it's the kind of experiment that could go very, very wrong. I mean, this trailer hits all the inspirational Oscar movie beats before unleashing a storm of violent gunfire. That's a combination you don't see all that often.
But after a few more viewings of the trailer, I've warmed a bit to what Zemeckis is doing here. Once the shock value wears off, the blend of live-action and animation actually looks quite ingenious, and the film seems to provide a nice opportunity for Steve Carell to show off his dramatic chops once again. While I liked his performances in Foxcatcher, The Big Short, and even Last Flag Flying, I'm interested to see Carell's full range as a dramatic actor. Welcome to Marwen seems like another great vehicle for him, and there's a stellar supporting cast as well, led by Leslie Mann, Baby Driver's Eiza Gonzalez, and music superstar Janelle Monae.
I'm not familiar with the true story or the documentary, so this is fresh, potentially compelling territory for me. This is a big, risky swing for Zemeckis, and I'm still not 100% sold on what's going on here. But this bold experiment could pay off, and I'm fascinated to see how it all plays out. I haven't been a fan of Zemeckis' recent "safe" efforts (Allied and Flight), so maybe a challenging film like this is just what the filmmaker needs. Plus, Collider scoop expert Jeff Sneider noted that he has heard good things so far, and he's usually pretty on the money. And there's the whole Nazi angle, which feels especially topical in 2018.
Anyways, Welcome to Marwen opens in theaters on November 21. Look for more on this one as fall festival season approaches.
Image courtesy of Universal
Basically, this looks like Anomalisa by way of a WWII movie. It's really something, and I don't entirely know how I feel about it.
When I first saw the trailer, I was completely offput by the film's mixture of real actors and.....whatever those dolls are doing. Welcome to Marwen looks like one of the most bizarre films of 2018, and it's the kind of experiment that could go very, very wrong. I mean, this trailer hits all the inspirational Oscar movie beats before unleashing a storm of violent gunfire. That's a combination you don't see all that often.
But after a few more viewings of the trailer, I've warmed a bit to what Zemeckis is doing here. Once the shock value wears off, the blend of live-action and animation actually looks quite ingenious, and the film seems to provide a nice opportunity for Steve Carell to show off his dramatic chops once again. While I liked his performances in Foxcatcher, The Big Short, and even Last Flag Flying, I'm interested to see Carell's full range as a dramatic actor. Welcome to Marwen seems like another great vehicle for him, and there's a stellar supporting cast as well, led by Leslie Mann, Baby Driver's Eiza Gonzalez, and music superstar Janelle Monae.
I'm not familiar with the true story or the documentary, so this is fresh, potentially compelling territory for me. This is a big, risky swing for Zemeckis, and I'm still not 100% sold on what's going on here. But this bold experiment could pay off, and I'm fascinated to see how it all plays out. I haven't been a fan of Zemeckis' recent "safe" efforts (Allied and Flight), so maybe a challenging film like this is just what the filmmaker needs. Plus, Collider scoop expert Jeff Sneider noted that he has heard good things so far, and he's usually pretty on the money. And there's the whole Nazi angle, which feels especially topical in 2018.
Anyways, Welcome to Marwen opens in theaters on November 21. Look for more on this one as fall festival season approaches.
Image courtesy of Universal
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