Mark, after nearly being beaten to death, escapes into a fantasy world of dolls in a World War 2 setting he can control.
First off this is very slow and considered.
The single goal of the story is to get Mark to attend a court date - that is it.
But of course for him this is a herculean effort.
The characters are great, the action elements in the fantasy world are vivid and punchy and injects a bit of motion into a very sedate movie.
Like "Sucker Punch" it gets a little bit repetitive as every problem Mark faces he retreats into his fantasy world.
Carell steps off the gas to give a heart felt performance, Leslie Mann does what she excels at: being desirable yet approachable. Merritt Wever holds it all together with an understated performance and she was my favourite character.
This isn't laugh-out-loud funny but it isn't as depressing as it might sound.
The only point I didn't like was that it framed Mark's attack as an encounter by strangers - which wasn't quite true. He was drinking with his attackers, otherwise they would know nothing about him.
I felt like the writers were afraid an audience would lose sympathy for him if he knew his attackers in anyway.
But I feel to the contrary: if some stranger attacks you just for being you there is little you can do about that - but if your actions put you into a situation that goes badly, then you are left wondering if it was somehow your fault, even if you are not to blame.
Once I knew this I suddenly understood why the main character just couldn't move on and was stuck in a loop.
A very enjoyable, different film, a great watch but you will need patience and focus or this is going to feel long.
