Marvellous (2014)

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

10 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toby Jones	...	Neil Baldwin
Gemma Jones	...	Mary
Tony Curran	...	Lou Macari
Nicholas Gleaves	...	Rev Mark
Greg McHugh	...	Malcolm
Paul Hunter	...	Ringmaster
Steven Cree	...	Rev. McCoist
Mona Goodwin	...	Elaine
Jacqueline Redgewell	...	Doris
Paul Bell	...	Lorry driver
Ben Abell	...	Security guard
Jordan Murphy	...	Laino
Oliver Ashworth	...	Bomber
Toby DeCann	...	Paddy
Michael Fox	...	Registrar

Storyline

Neil Baldwin, born just after World War II, is considered to have learning difficulties but he has an appetite for life and, encouraged by his mother Mary, leaves his butchery job to join the circus as Nello the Clown, being undaunted when the circus moves on without him. He moves to Keele University, where Mary has a cleaning job, appointing himself the unofficial greeter to new students, a role rewarded by an honorary degree in 2013. He also gets to manage its unofficial football team, named after him, and in 1992 talks his way into becoming the kit man and mascot of his beloved football team Stoke City. For Neil there are no boundaries - his interest in religion leads to his becoming a lay preacher whilst he presents himself at the House of Commons for tea with MP Tony Benn and at Cambridge University, where he strikes up a friendship with Prince Andrew, which results in his being on the queen's Christmas card list. With his indomitable attitude overcoming early set-backs and the ...

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Plot Keywords:

university | circus | mascot | friendship | clown | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official BBC page

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 2014 (UK)

Also Known As:

Marvellous

Filming Locations:

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fifty Fathoms Productions, Tiger Aspect Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

The incident with the chicken suit was an away game at Cambridge Utd. It was such a hot day that some supporters passed out and bottles of water given out to fans by stewards but Neil Baldwin wore the chicken outfit whilst sat in the dug out.

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Quotes

Lou Macari: Just out of interest, what did you tell that girl who wanted to kill herself?
Neil Baldwin: I said "we've all got to go sometime, love. But why do you have to go now".

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Connections

Features Trapeze (1956)

User Reviews

Marvellous does not do this justice.

Marvellous is such a small movie in scope and ambition that it shouldn't really register.

It was made for UK TV and not overly hyped, yet it turns out to be a career defining work for an actor that has already had all manner of praise heaped on him for his role in Infamous and his many franchise movie roles (Potter, Hunger Games and The Muppets.).

Like his contemporary Michael Sheen (Cloughie in The Damned United and David Frost in Frost/Nixon) he is adept at playing performances that impersonate the stars (Truman Capote in Infamous). Only this time the star is not really anyone outside of Stoke has ever heard of.

He plays, Neil (Nello) Baldwin, a small guy with learning difficulties who has no fear of the conventions of life because the fear button in his brain is switched off. The result is an outrageous journey of hope over fear, joy over sadness and opportunity over failure.

A clown. Stoke City's kit manager. University of Keele doer. Crazy jobs each and all. And all brought to life by this amazing man's unique personality.

Three times I wept. It's a joyous movie but has deeply sad moments and is an absolute must see.