When Marnie Was There
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Kiernan Shipka, John C. Reilly, Catherine O’Hara
Since 1986’s Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Studio Ghibli has captivated viewers worldwide. Co-founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata have directed some of the greatest anime movies of all time, from the former’s Spirited Away to the latter’s Grave of the Fireflies.
These Ghibli films have an entrenched reputation for being beautiful, bewitching and brilliant. Enamouring critics and audiences alike, they have set an incredibly high standard for the anime industry.
Consequently, they have also set a high bar for fellow Ghibli productions, especially those by other directors. Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s second directorial venture When Marnie Was There falls short of this bar, but nevertheless contains much of the flair, poignancy and visual beauty of its Ghibli predecessors.
You look just like the girl I saw in my dreams.
12-year-old Anna is sent to live in a rural coastal town for a few months to aid her recovery from a severe asthma attack. During her stay she stumbles across a once grandiose mansion, now dilapidated and abandoned, and within it a young girl named Marnie. Both feeling isolated and desperate for various reasons, the two find solace in a fervent, firm friendship.
A key theme of When Marnie Was There is that of visions and delusions. For much of the film, it’s unclear whether or not Marnie is a figment of Anna’s imagination.
Fortunately, the script handles this territory with careful, intelligent sensitivity. Though no one else reports having seen Marnie, the script never dismisses Anna’s experiences as trivial or outlandish.
Would you cry if I died? Would you remember my face?
Anna herself is a somewhat unusual Ghibli protagonist. She is artistic and thoughtful, but also deeply unhappy. Her behaviour around others can be erratic, and in a heart-breaking scene she chastises herself for her own moodiness after snapping at another girl.
When Marnie Was There doesn’t shy away from Anna’s raw anger: she declares that she hates herself, and it’s a bleak but realistic portrayal of the turmoil a twelve-year-old can experience.
When Marnie Was There shines when it explores such sentiment and feeling. The adoring rapport between Anna and Marnie beams with sincerity; many other figures, even those with only a few lines, resonate with subtly endowed character traits.
I hate to break it to you, but there’s no use pretending to be normal.
The movie is fundamentally about uncertainty, and Anna’s personal struggle to come to terms with the world and with herself. It’s when she’s gazing, enraptured, at the mansion, or enjoying a gentle moonlit dance with Marnie, that the film perfects its handling of a young girl’s psychological journey towards self-acceptance.
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As much as When Marnie Was There excels at conveying its themes and emotions, it’s unfortunately bogged down by some overly convoluted plotting, especially in its second half.
Anna’s experiences are gradually left behind in favour of storyline exposition. A third act rush to ensure that every single jigsaw piece fits together additionally seems to throw in extra storyline components that serve no discernible purpose.
In this world, there’s an invisible, magic circle. There’s an inside and an outside. And I’m outside.
Most regrettably at all, the relationship between Anna and Marnie is supposed to culminate on a triumphantly warm note, but instead comes across as a bit awkward. The existence of Marnie somehow manages to be predictably convenient and somewhat shoehorned in. Her connection to Anna is undeniable, but does not cohere with the connotations of their earlier friendship.
Perhaps aspects of this are due to a loss in translation from Japanese, but other Ghibli productions such as Arrietty and From Up on Poppy Hill indicate that this is a recurring problem for their more recent films: fluctuations of character and situation to fit a pre-determined mould.
That said, despite any problems in structure, a Studio Ghibli film is always guaranteed to be visually breathtaking. With sumptuous ocean views, luscious foliage, glimmering crescent moons and gleaming sunsets, the landscape animation of When Marnie Was There is confidently excellent. A shift in atmosphere is often conveyed simply by a change in Anna’s stature or expression.
I missed you. I called for you and in my heart I shouted.
The English dub of any Japanese film must be forgiven for stilted-sounding dialogue, and Hailee Steinfeld does a decent job with what she is given. Meanwhile, the music sadly doesn’t live up to the talents of Ghibli behemoth Joe Hisaishi, but Takatsugu Muramatsu produces a solidly pleasant score.
This was the last movie to be produced by Studio Ghibli before its indefinite hiatus began; no future Ghibli films are planned, rendering When Marnie Was There a sort of temporary swansong. With so many iconic films before it, including Takahata’s deftly immersive The Tale of Princess Kaguya as its direct canon predecessor, When Marnie Was There had exceedingly high expectations to live up to.
As a result, when compared to its more successful Ghibli siblings, When Marnie Was There feels distinctly average. Its plot and characters complications detract from the experience, rendering the overall storyline underwhelming.
She acted like she had it all, but the truth was that she was being neglected.
Nevertheless, When Marnie Was There excels with its animation, as a Ghibli production always does. And although the pay-off isn’t fantastic, Anna’s intermediary journey from sadness to hope is utterly compelling. Her fragile mental state is portrayed realistically and with genuine sympathy, meaning the viewer is invested in her experiences.
If it hadn’t been distracted by exposition, When Marnie Was There would have benefited greatly from a sustained exploration of Anna’s complex psychology.
