Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Marvellous

  • TV Movie
  • 2014
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
6.3K
YOUR RATING
Toby Jones and Jack Wilkinson in Marvellous (2014)
Drama

The life of Neil Baldwin, a man who has shrugged off his perceived limitations to live an incredible life.The life of Neil Baldwin, a man who has shrugged off his perceived limitations to live an incredible life.The life of Neil Baldwin, a man who has shrugged off his perceived limitations to live an incredible life.

  • Director
    • Julian Farino
  • Writer
    • Peter Bowker
  • Stars
    • Toby Jones
    • Gemma Jones
    • Tony Curran
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    6.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Julian Farino
    • Writer
      • Peter Bowker
    • Stars
      • Toby Jones
      • Gemma Jones
      • Tony Curran
    • 37User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 BAFTA Awards
      • 12 wins & 4 nominations total

    Photos

    Gemma Jones and Toby Jones in Marvellous (2014)
    Toby Jones and Jack Wilkinson in Marvellous (2014)
    Jordan Murphy, Toby DeCann, and Oliver Ashworth in Marvellous (2014)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Toby Jones
    Toby Jones
    • Neil Baldwin
    Gemma Jones
    Gemma Jones
    • Mary
    Tony Curran
    Tony Curran
    • Lou Macari
    Nicholas Gleaves
    Nicholas Gleaves
    • Rev Mark
    Greg McHugh
    Greg McHugh
    • Malcolm
    Paul Hunter
    Paul Hunter
    • Ringmaster
    Steven Cree
    Steven Cree
    • Rev. McCoist
    Mona Goodwin
    Mona Goodwin
    • Elaine
    Jacqueline Redgewell
    • Doris
    Paul Bell
    • Lorry driver
    Ben Abell
    • Security guard
    Jordan Murphy
    Jordan Murphy
    • Laino
    Oliver Ashworth
    Oliver Ashworth
    • Bomber
    Toby DeCann
    Toby DeCann
    • Paddy
    Michael Fox
    Michael Fox
    • Registrar
    Pal Aron
    • Mr. Saeed
    Sarah Finigan
    Sarah Finigan
    • Susan
    Jack Wilkinson
    • Richard
    • Director
      • Julian Farino(attached)
    • Writer
      • Peter Bowker
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Detectorists
    8.6
    Detectorists
    Finding Jack Charlton
    8.0
    Finding Jack Charlton
    The Damned United
    7.5
    The Damned United
    Marvelous
    Marvelous
    The Scapegoat
    7.2
    The Scapegoat
    Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This
    7.3
    Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This
    Anne
    8.1
    Anne
    Cradle to Grave
    8.0
    Cradle to Grave
    Kick Out the Jams: The Story of XFM
    6.6
    Kick Out the Jams: The Story of XFM
    Bank of Dave
    7.1
    Bank of Dave
    A Few Miles South
    7.9
    A Few Miles South
    Stonehouse
    6.8
    Stonehouse

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Actor Toby Jones who portrays Neil Baldwin is himself a lifelong Stoke City supporter
    • Quotes

      Neil Baldwin: I always wanted to be happy, so I decided to be.

    • Connections
      Features Trapeze (1956)

    User reviews37

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Very pleasing and heart-warming tale, with a clever and effective delivery that sees the film mirror Baldwin
    This film is the true story of Neil Baldwin, a man diagnosed with learning difficulties as a child but one who counts royalty and bishops among his close friends, has connections across the world of English football, was given an honorary degree by Keele University, and worked as kit man for Stoke City. I guess to deliver this film there were many ways that the film could have gone, but it was a very wise decision to make the film very much in the style of Neil himself – gentle, unassuming, self-assured, and totally unthreatening. The story opens with Neil abandoned by his circus employer, although hardly put out by it, he simply walks to a church where he is able to get help – not by charm or force, but just by an apparent lack of awareness of "normal" society.

    This continues through the film and we see someone who just put his mind to things, decided he would do something, and did it. It is a story that is very well told by the film because it manages to be uplifting, funny, sad, hopeful, and genuinely warming to watch. It is not that he deserves great awards or knighthoods as some have suggested, but there is certainly something cheering about a life well lived without seemingly any trace of malice, spite or harm in the man's body. This gentle, honest approach extends to my favorite device of the film, which is to integrate the real Baldwin and the real Lou Macari into the film, to have them sit with the actors while the actors are in character; this device works surprisingly well, not only because it lets us see that us Baldwin really does seem to be the person that we are told, but also so that Baldwin can contribute directly his views on the thing we just saw. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but it works tremendously well.

    A big part of it working is that Toby Jones is excellent. He is wonderfully human, determined, and very much in keeping with a simple man with determination and no ill-will. To consider what some actors would do with a "learning difficulties" character, Jones makes it a base for his character but never what or who he is playing; I particularly liked him staying in character while sharing the scene with the real Baldwin – it not only showed how well the character was being delivered, but it also doubled up on the warming effect and gave an unusual device of getting inside the character's head at that moment. The supporting cast are all very good, but the film belongs to Jones and Baldwin.

    You will have heard many good things about this film, and maybe it is a bit over-hyped, but that is not to say that it isn't really good. It is a gentle, unassuming little film that will surprise you by how much it does and how well it does it – again, just like Baldwin himself.
    helpful•12
    1
    • bob the moo
    • Feb 20, 2015

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 25, 2014 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Official BBC page
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Fifty Fathoms Productions
      • Tiger Aspect Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 16:9 HD

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.