Film Review: "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" (2022)
Director: Dean Fleischer-Camp
Writers: Dean Fleischer-Camp, Jenny Slate, Nick Paley
Stars: Jenny Slate, Dean Fleischer-Camp, Isabella Rossellini
Disclaimer: This is going to be a spoiler-y review. So, if you haven’t had a chance to see “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,” bookmark this for later.
Like many a millennial, I fell in love with the Marcel YouTube videos. Here is this tiny shell, with a sweet voice, talking about his life. The way he adapts to the big world around him. One year for Christmas, I was even gifted Marcel the Shell: the Most Surprised I’ve Ever Been, I, a grown adult, was excited to see my favorite little shell in print.
At the same time, I was also completing my internship for my Master’s program in professional counseling. I worked for a hospice agency, providing counseling and support for patients and families during end-of-life care. I loved most working in the memory care unit; that is where I spent much of my time. My special project was utilizing children’s books to spark conversations, to the best of people’s abilities, about end-of-life. The Little Prince was frequently used. As was Love You Forever, the world’s most heartbreaking book. And Marcel the Shell was also in rotation.
As I watched the film, I was transported back to my grad school days. The long days of providing in-person care. The research and note taking that would some times leave me heavy and strangely hopeful. In the film, “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,” we are introduced to Marcel (Jenny Slate), a shell who lives in an AirBnb with his grandmother, Nana Connie (Isabella Rossellini), as filmmaker Dean (Dean Fleischer-Camp) begins to make a documentary about Marcel.
Marcel is clearly still mourning the loss of his family, who were taken from their home when the previous owners split up. All Marcel has is his Nana Connie. Nana Connie has learned to adapt in a house with irregular visitors, many of whom do not notice the shells in the home. It is through their friendship with Dean that Marcel and Nana Connie become hopeful of being reunited with their family.
But, above all, Marcel is concerned about Nana Connie. Marcel has already lost his whole family, and Nana Connie is all he has left. Even as her memory falters, Marcel still celebrates her gardening, her company, and her love. Nana Connie is aging, but she is still able to provide for herself and Marcel. That is, until Nana Connie has a terrible fall. Nana Connie struggles to get back on her feet. It is Marcel’s greatest fear to lose his grandmother. He becomes more protective of her.
And even as Nana Connie declines, she still manages to care for Marcel. She puts her brave face on - and some crayon blush - to appear she is back to her old self. Marcel and Nana Connie’s relationship and love for each other was the glue of the whole film. It had me thinking about my patients, how some had no family left, and how amazing the staff cared for them like they were their own grandparents. I thought about the children and grandchildren who spent every day or every weekend with their loved one. Even as dementia robbed people of their memories, the care they still gave was truly astonishing. Whether it was people who held on, to make it past an important anniversary before passing. Or those who, even without verbal communication, would light up when their loved ones came.
I remember one patient, who would let me read stories with them, and ask them questions about their family. I remember their laugh during Marcel the Shell: the Most Surprised I’ve Ever Been as Marcel describes the dog in the house. I remember them humming little tunes throughout the day. I remember their family who would thank me for being there with their loved one. And those same warm and heavy feelings I felt, being present with someone who was slowly fading, being present with their family as they watched their loved one slip away, were the same feelings I had watching the film.
There is something truly inspiring about a film, one that is accessible for children, that can add so many layers that will greet us at various stages or moments in our lives. Whether we are children, first understanding loss, or we are adults, coming to terms with changes, or we are humans of any age learning to hold fear and bravery at the same time, there is a little bit of something for everyone in “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.” It is more than a little shell in a big house, using a Dorito to hang glide. It is a story about self-discovery, connection, grief, living, and community.