Like past comedy talents such as Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, Steve Carell continues along the path toward rebranding himself as a “serious” actor. In the brand-new film Welcome to Marwen, he gets a role and a movie that should garner some Oscar attention.

The film has all the ingredients of a Best Picture nomination: it has a socially prominent issue, an innovative format, and strong and diverse female roles. Based on a true story, “Marwen” very artfully follows themes and threads woven between two worlds: the real, small-town world of a disabled man and the handful of people (mostly women) invested in his well being, and the quasi-real, delusional, fortress realm he creates and catalogues through the lens of his disease-and-drug-fueled imagination.

Leslie Mann detours away from comedy herself to add a strong supporting role, and the effects of the transition from animated to “real” segments are captivating: I can’t recall a film that made the transitions between reality and fantasy so perfect, so natural and captivating at the same time.

Will Steve Carell get a best actor nomination for this one? –Probably: it’s a powerful and timely film and the lead role fits the “Oscar” mold. The performance suited him better than it might have for another actor because his past roles often portrayed a “straight man” with comedic irony because he couldn’t see his own folly. In Welcome to Marwen, he’s still using a “straight man” act but his folly is a sanctuary he builds in order to manage reality.

So far, it’s one of the best and boldest films I have seen this year.

WRH