REVIEW: Alan Silvestri / "Welcome to Marwen"

Zemeckis & Silvestri have not lost their magic touch

Alan Silvestri Welcome to Marwen

Rating: (4 / 5)

Intrada 21/12/2018

TT: 57:22

Seems that Robert Zemeckis has decided (at least!) to leave his animation period behind and return to more serious business. Especially after two big dramas like “Allied” and “The Flight”, all fans were thinking if we would see him returning to his fantasy stories. Let’s say that “Welcome to Marwan” can be called that…. of sorts. As the official statement reads: “When a devastating attack shatters Mark Hogancamp and wipes away all his memories, no one expected recovery. But by putting together pieces from his old and new life, Hogancamp meticulously creates a wondrous town where he can heal and be heroic. As he builds an astonishing art installation—a testament to the most powerful women he knows—through his fantasy world, he draws strength to triumph in the real one”… well at least my curiosity starts drooling.

For scoring duties, one thing that Zemeckis has never left behind, was to rely on his 30+ year relationship with composer Alan Silvestri. Even although now he is back in the limelight with blockbusters like “Ready Player One” or “Avengers: Infinity War”. And as always, Silvestri delivers, “…embodying the music with the sense of adventure, wonder, and tenderness of some of his previous works. The colors of solo clarinet, flute and piano permeate throughout in the score's more sensitive moments. While the women of Marwen are scored with a military and heroic bent, underscoring their strength at protecting Hogancamp as part of his fantastical art installation, the town of Marwen. The result is a warm symphonic fantasy.” Yep... All that and more can be found here.

One of the things that Silvestri is pretty good at is applying his themes all throughout the score. "Marwen" is no exception. Silvestri introduces his main theme right off in “Welcome to Marwen”. A heart-warming melody that reoccurs notably in “Finally Got It Right”, “You Got This”, “Beautiful Moon”, “Crippled by Fear”, “They Can’t Hurt Me”, “Marwencol” and the “End Credits” suite. That could make you think that the score is a bit monothematic. Not at all, there are many surprises along the way.

There is a very impressive military motif, which is also introduced in “Welcome to Marwen”. With it, we can find several syncopated sections, a little reminiscent of Predator and The Great Escape. Cues like “New Girl in Town”, “Rise and Shine”, as well as the “End Credits” feature this military element, without a great deal of variation, representing the more martial remembrances from his past life. But in cues like “Saved”, “Goodnight Girls”, “Wake Up Sweetheart”, “Marwencol” and again the “End Credits” there is a third melody – that sounds like a possible love theme.

“Welcome to Marwen” is as vintage Silvestri as they come. There is much to like here, as the story allows Silvestri to flex his creative muscles in various (and opposite) directions. The score moves from gentle drama to heroic military action and to sinister underscore – and it does it effortlessly. It’s not easy to pull off such a varied score; and I dare say it takes an experienced and confident composer with a strong identifiable style to make this work. Silvestri ticks all those boxes.