When Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell) suffers a brutal beating outside a bar, giving him brain damage and robbing him of his memory he seeks therapy by creating a model town of the fictional Belgium town of Marwen set in World War 2. Populating it with dolls that represent him, the women in his life and his attackers he creates art by photographing the stories he creates within it.

Based on a true story and already the subject of a documentary this is a story with great cinematic qualities. Added to that we have the technically gifted Robert Zemeckis in the directors chair. Known for the Back to the Future trilogy his films always tend to have some form of technical wizardry in them. Such as the merging of animation with real life in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the blending of documentary and filmed footage in Forest Gump or his trilogy of motion captured animation in The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol. Here Zemeckis gets to make two films and merge them together. We have the real world where Mark becomes infatuated with a new neighbour (Leslie Mann) whilst the impending sentencing of his attackers and the opening of his art show loom over him. And the fictional world of Marwen where dolls come to life and fight Nazi’s.

In theory it sounds highly entertaining. In practice it’s rather dull and the two different worlds impinge on each other’s impact. In the real world Carell gives an intriguing performance as a lonely man still struggling with the trauma of his attack. He is socially awkward and his infatuation with his neighbour is borderline creepy without the context of his brain injuries, which aren’t overtly explained. In the fantasy world of Marwen though everything is hyper stylised and a crazy blend of levels of realism. Whilst the town might feature realistic detail it is also populated by witches, reanimating nazis and a group of women loyal to Hogancamp’s doll version of himself Captain Hogie. Every time something becomes traumatic for Hogancamp he disappears into fantasy and all tension is dispelled.

As alluded to above the best facet of the film is the technical wizardry on display. The way the camera swoops between the real world and the fictional is fantastic. But this technical genius is almost what severs any emotional connection. I left the film knowing as little about Hogancamp as I did before going in.