For three decades, Studio Ghibli has enthralled people with their fantastical narratives, hand-drawn animation, memorable characters, and depiction of emotions. Sadly, When Marnie Was There marked the end of an era for a studio which was home to the likes of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, as Studio Ghibli is on an indefinite hiatus from feature length films. Amidst all the grand castles, whimsical creatures, and gutsy female heroines, is a more subdued tale that is about an introverted girl dealing with her inner problems. In its story and in its characters, When Marnie Was There is different from what Ghibli normally produces. What it does retain, however, is the studio's incredible ability to depict human emotions through the use of visuals.
Story:
Stories of characters creating an imaginary friend in order to deal with their psychological problems is an all too familiar one. Often enough, imaginary characters are products of a protagonist's need for a friend. It is their need for someone who can understand them and guide them. When Marnie Was There adds a twist to this by turning the story into a mystery, but it never really presents itself as a mystery. According to Alfred Hitchcock, mysteries are an "intellectual process", but When Marnie Was There does not focus on the intellectual process. Instead, it focuses primarily on the friendship between Anna and Marnie. It is best to suspend one's critical or analytical thinking as the story goes on because it's not really much of a mystery.
The friendship between Anna and Marnie is an interesting one. There are tensions and misunderstandings, but the friendship between the two is so strong that it may be interpreted by some people as a romantic relationship. The film is not without its faults because it tries to be two things at once, and the pacing of the narrative is quite slow so things never turn as complex or deeply-layered as they seem. As the film progresses, blurred lines between reality and fantasy become more imminent, particularly in the second half of the film. Whilst this blurring of reality and fantasy can happen to people who have psychological problems like Anna, the execution or approach could have been handled better. Often enough, viewers may have to interpret what is being shown to them because of the fact that information is withheld. This means that the film can get too mysterious or puzzling for its own good. If you take away the supernatural element, then it seems like an odd story about a girl consistently hallucinating and passing out in different places. Although there are hints and foreshadowing on the eventual plot twist, the film's climax is just simply an exposition dump, but can nonetheless, hit you as something that is emotionally strong.
When Marnie Was There deals with dark themes right from the onset of the film, but it never touches too deeply into them and instead, offers quick resolutions to the problems that are presented. It's not the best or most complex out there, but it is a story that is melancholic and poignant in beauty even for a film that is geared towards children.
Art and Animation:
It is difficult to not be swept away by the beauty of this film. There is a bucolic beauty that comes with the landscapes, nostalgia in the town and architecture, and sublimity in the details of the environment and character expressions. When Marnie Was There is such a picturesque film, that is brings not only the seaside town to life, but also the characters. From the onset of the film, we are already treated to the depiction of emotions through the movement of characters. Anna’s environment is one that is bustling with life, a place that does not befit a person who is dealing with her inner problems. There is a scene near the beginning of the film that I like where in Anna hops off the train and arrives at the seaside town. As the train behind Anna finally pulls away, we are revealed to a more quiet and subtle environment. A perfect transition where I think the animators did one hell of a job. The way the seaside town is presented is that it is made into a place of psychological healing. The characters and the setting blended very well together, giving off a feeling of realism. It is clear that the visuals were made to be the center of attention because it feels like a story on its own. There is not a literal need for dialogue or development in the emotional story that the visuals are trying to convey because it is being done with beautiful shots of moments and the natural setting.
There are misconceptions that the characters are presented with blandness, and that there is also a lack of subtlety to how expressions suddenly jump from neutral to astonished. There are moments when Anna smiles (usually around Marnie, who empathizes with her), but it has to be taken note of, that the protagonist is going through a rough time, so jumping from a neutral to an astonished face is normal. Studio Ghibli has in no way, mitigated their ability to bring their characters to life. They just managed to express the characters in a more subtle way.
"I think the environments and relationships that surround people who are afflicted have a great impact on their psychological healing. This is why I chose to express the sensation we feel in the coldness of water, and in smell and taste. In my films, I place emphasis on the re-creation of what we can feel with our senses. Dramatic expression is certainly one of animation’s strengths, but I believe hand-drawn animation is particularly effective with films like Marnie that appeal to the senses. With hand-drawn animation we get to choose what we want to bring across to the viewer. We can effectively show wind blowing during a moving scene and such. Because it’s drawn, we can draw things to be more beautiful than if they were filmed in live-action." - Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Sound and Music:
The music in this film was never obtrusive. There wasn't a piece that really stood out in a scene or completely took over it because the main function of the music was to just simply be an accompaniment. To serve as a compliment so that it may further strengthen the feelings that were evoked by the setting. This is a good thing because like the visuals, the music evoked feelings of subtlety and poignancy. These feelings are all the more true for the theme; Fine on the Outside by Priscilla Ahn. It is a beautiful song that was written back in 2005, but was never released because it is quite personal. The artist finally decided to release it along with the film because she saw herself in the protagonist; Anna. The sounds for this film were also pretty good. I thought that the seiyuus for Anna and Marnie did great, and the sound effects blended well with the atmosphere to create a sense of realism.
Characters:
Anna is certainly different from many other female protagonists of Ghibli films. She is lonely, she represses her feelings, and she is in anguish. Anna is a representation of the dark emotions that a kid can feel and go through. Anna even keeps saying throughout the film that she hates herself which hints at the possibility of suicidal intentions if she had stayed in the city. The playground scene at the beginning of the film is a very good one because it is embedded with meaning, telling us what Anna is like. In the scene, we are shown children playing in the playground and students in groups, but Anna is all alone. We see her drawing something out of fantasy, and it shows that both drawing and creating fantastical things eases her. It gives her relief even it may be a temporary form of relief. The scene gets followed by a teacher asking if he could see Anna's drawing. Anna is hesitant to show her drawing at first, but slowly decides to show and handover the drawing. As she is about to give the drawing, the teacher gets distracted by a kid who is seen crying, so he decides to head over to the scene and leave Anna behind. It's a fleeting moment that shows Anna's shyness, her hesitance to accept help, and her repression of feelings.
Marnie is an ambiguous character that is the opposite of Anna. She is a manifestation of what Anna desires to be. The fact that her being a ghost or hallucination is never made clear, but it adds to the level of mysticism or ambiguity which she has. At its core, however, When Marnie Was There is about the friendship between Anna and Marnie. It is a very strong friendship that can come off as being a romance even though it is not. Their friendship is one that is heart-warming because many moments between the two characters are handled with subtlety. You won't get a complex character catharsis, but there remains a fact that this is a mature film for children.