Peter Bowker's script tells the real-life story of Neil Baldwin (Toby Jones), who overcame his learning difficulties to become a stalwart member of Stoke City F.C.'s backroom staff under manager Lou Macari (Tony Curran), as well as undertaking a variety of other jobs such as greeting new freshmen and women at Keele University and running his own soccer team.
The production ingeniously combines dramatic action with brief interludes in which the fictional Neil encounters the real Neil and asks him questions about his life. This dramatic strategy draws attention to Baldwin's optimistic outlook on life, his enduring faith in God, and his belief that people are basically good-natured. Such qualities have given him the strength to cope with life, especially the trauma of losing his mother (played by Gemma Jones in the film).
MARVELLOUS also includes musical interludes, in which a choir sings popular songs, both secular and religious ("The Lord's My Shepherd I'll Not Want") accompanied by ukuleles. During one such sequence we see the fictional Neil participating, even though he does not really feel like it in the wake of his mother's death. Such scenes emphasize the importance of community spirit to Neil's life as a means of providing him with emotional and physical support. They serve as a musical counterpoint to the sequences set in the changing-rooms of Stoke City F.C., where Neil listens to (and sometimes participates) in the banter between Macari and his players.
Julian Farino's production eschews historical accuracy for dramatic effect; we learn at the end that Neil has worked at Keele for nearly half a century, yet the bulk of the action appears to be set in the late Eighties and early Nineties (judging from the age of the cars seen in the background). Such strategies emphasize the timelessness of the tale; we are not witnessing a period drama per se, but a triumphant chronicle of an individual overcoming adversity and carving out a niche for himself that is both professionally and personally satisfying.
Toby Jones gives a memorable performance as Neil. This versatile actor, who moves from film, to television and radio with equal facility, portrays the central character as someone whose naivété is particularly endearing. His capacity for ending conversations with logical non sequiturs is amazing, rendering his friends and acquaintances absolutely speechless. Jones' most memorable moment comes in a sequence just after his mother's death, when he sits alone in his cluttered apartment, staring at the wall, and bursts into floods of tears as he finally understands that he is now totally alone. But, true to form, he surmounts this loss and ends up achieving one of his cherished ambitions; to play for Stoke City (even if it is only a testimonial match).
MARVELLOUS is one of those understated dramas that British television does really well. Full of unexpected pleasures as well as some extremely funny lines, it deserves to be considered a modern classic.
