Steve Carell plays Mark Hogancamp, a real person who was brutally attacked outside a bar. As a coping mechanism, he created a miniature town where he can play out WWII fantasies populated with characters from his experiences (this was also chronicled in a doc about his life and work). The drama continuously moves from his imaginary world to the traumas of his lonely life. A cool new visual effects technique is used to give the actors doll-like qualities (plastic skin, hard hair, articulated joints). The “war” scenes add an interesting layer to the narrative, but aren’t especially exciting. The human encounters just pile on the suffering without much emotional involvement. It’s an interesting cinematic approach, but more as a fictional version of the doc than a moving experience. In a nod to one of director Robert Zemeckis’ greatest hits, there’s are “Back to the Future” skid marks from the time machine.

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