User:LancedSoul/sandbox/Welcome to Marwen

Welcome to Marwen is a 2018 American drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis, who co-wrote the script with Caroline Thompson. It is inspired by Jeff Malmberg's 2010 documentary Marwencol. The film stars Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Diane Kruger, Merritt Wever, Janelle Monáe, Eiza González, Gwendoline Christie, Leslie Zemeckis, Siobhan Williams and Neil Jackson, and follows the true story of Mark Hogancamp, a man struggling with PTSD who, after being physically assaulted, creates a fictional village to ease his trauma. The film was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on December 21, 2018.

Plot
No one expects Mark Hogancamp to recover from a devastating assault that wipes away all of his memories. Putting together pieces from the past and present, Mark meticulously creates a Belgian town and becomes a heroic World War II fighter pilot. His astonishing art installation soon comes to life with breathtakingly realistic dolls -- a testament to the most powerful women he knows. Through this fantasy world, Hogancamp finds the strength to triumph in the real world and face his attackers.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Executive meddling: The original budget for the film was $120 million, but after early test screenings went poorly, costs were cut.
 * 2) Like What Lies Beneath, the film lacks the charm of the Robert Zemeckis movies.
 * 3) The tone does not fit in the film at all.

Reception
Welcome to Marwen received mixed reviews, who criticized the tone and screenplay, although the visuals and Carell's performance received praise. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 34% based on 166 reviews and an average score of 4.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Welcome to Marwen has dazzling effects and a sadly compelling story, but the movie's disjointed feel and clumsy screenplay make this invitation easy to decline.". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 40 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it a 57% overall positive score and a 37% "definite recommend."