The Trouble With Mr Doodle

The story of Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, and how a seemingly benign activity has transformed his life, with startling results.

In 2019, Sam Cox bought a six-bedroom mansion in the English countryside. He stripped it bare and painted it white. Then, over the course of two years, he covered every available surface in doodles. Shortly after, a three-minute stop-motion film capturing his work was posted online and went viral, leaving many curious as to who ‘Mr Doodle’ was. Jaimie D'Cruz, Ed Perkins and Alex Nott’s film answers that question, but not as some might expect. What the filmmakers intended to capture soon gave way to a more complex history, as the details of Cox’s life became clear – his childhood experiences informing his perspective on the world and the role doodling plays in it. The result is a fascinating portrait of a singular individual.

Content Guidance: Film contains discussions about mental health.