MIFF 2022 Film Review - Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Images courtesy of the Melbourne International Film Festival and A24.
How far can you take the idea of a talking shell who wears shoes and stands one inch off the ground? Well, with the help of many celebrity cameos, dozens of viral videos, and a documentary maker with too much time on his hands, apparently there’s no limit.
In an instance of art coming to life, there’s something natural about Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. The concept launched via several shorts released in the early 2010’s, and the feature film achieves a weird balance of blending the real with the fantasy. I’ll admit, I don’t think there are talking shells hiding in my sock drawer, but I also have no doubt that without these YouTube shorts and the creative genius behind them, this decade-in-the-making project would not have been possible.
The ability to feed off a pre-existing fan base - some of whom, up to and including Conan O’Brien, even feature in the film- lends it an authentic touch. This is necessary in easing audiences into following the life of a shoe-wearing shell who happens to be named Marcel.
So how far can you take this plot line? Let me be bold here: Blade Runner needed a whole dystopian future to flesh out its world, Marcel only required half of an Airbnb. The imagination found in Claymation is often striking, and coupled with sentient shells who must fend for themselves, harvest their own food and abate the loneliness of being separated from family, make for a delightful watching experience, seeing how fleshed out the lives of Marcel and his ageing grandmother are.
Once you’ve totally suspended your disbelief, the cocktail of tragedy and comedy keeps things fresh as this mockumentary really does just spend 90 minutes showing you two months in the life of Marcel. The shaky-cam delivery drifts in and out of focus while maintaining consistent beauty in the finer details of a home. The washing machine is terrifying, bugs aren’t as bad as you’d think, and the home renovations Marcel’s made to accommodate his teeny-tiny lifestyle are hidden in plain sight all over the place.
Director Dean Fleischer Camp somehow breathed new life into a decade-old gag, launching a couple three-minute youtube clips into a genuine coming of age story. In that decade it’s almost staggering to reflect on the sheer number of collaborators recruited to achieve this vision; I can’t imagine it was easy to recruit tens of different intellectual properties to tell this singularly wonderful story.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is screening as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival, running in cinemas August 4-21 and online August 11-28. For tickets and more info, click here.