My Week with Marilyn
2.5/4
Starring: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Zoe Wanamaker, Dominic Cooper, Emma Watson, Judi Dench
Rated R for Some Language
Marilyn Monroe was a star. No, she was more than that. She was an icon. A symbol. Whatever you want to call it. Forget Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt or Robert Pattinson. Compared to her, they're nobodies. Marilyn Monroe was so popular that she ceased to become a human being. "My Week with Marilyn," which is based on a true story, seeks (with limited success) to explore who Marilyn Monroe really was.
Sir Laurence Olivier (Branagh) is directing his new film in England, called "The Prince and the Showgirl." His star is none other than the world famous Marilyn Monroe. Olivier is soon going to regret his decision as his star is unreliable, emotional and a method actor (something that he does not understand very well). He enlists his third assistant director, Colin Clark (Redmayne) to keep an eye on her. It isn't long before he becomes infatuated with her, and she with him.
I'm not the world's biggest fan of Michelle Williams. It's not that she's a bad actress (she's quite good). It's just that she lacks screen presence. She can't hold the camera's attention, and if there's one thing that an actress needs to play Marilyn Monroe, that's it. Eddie Redmayne is a little better, but they generate no heat. He has more chemistry with his other romantic interest, Lucy (an underused Watson). Kenneth Branagh is very good even though his speech patterns slip occasionally. Judi Dench is dreadfully underused, although it's always nice to see her no matter how long she's on screen.
One thing I did like about this movie is that it gives insight into what filmmaking is like. Marilyn is a temperamental star to put it mildly. Laurence Olivier is the egotistic and constantly stressed star. Paula Strasberg (Wanamaker) is more of a leech than Marilyn's acting coach. Milton Greene (Cooper in another fine performance) is the harried producer who will turn a blind eye to Marilyn's behavior and self-destructive tendencies as long as she's happy enough to make the movie. And Colin is the starry-eyed kid half in awe and half infatuated with this celebrity. This stuff, and how these characters respond to Marilyn, rings true.
Simon Curtis has done his research and the look of the film is authentic. The problem is that the shot selection is stale. There's little variety in the shot selection, and I was reminded of Wes Anderson (only in that sense of course...this movie is actually watchable). To his credit, he is able to generate a moderate level of attention when Marilyn makes an entrance, but there's only so much that he can do. Also real is Colin's relationship with his parents (he wants to be a filmmaker, but his father tries to talk him out of it and his mother just humors him). Everyone who wants to do something important feels that way.
I can't trash the movie, and I wouldn't want to. It kept my attention and I was rarely bored. I just wish that the producers had gotten an actress who had "it," as it's commonly called.
Starring: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Zoe Wanamaker, Dominic Cooper, Emma Watson, Judi Dench
Rated R for Some Language
Marilyn Monroe was a star. No, she was more than that. She was an icon. A symbol. Whatever you want to call it. Forget Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt or Robert Pattinson. Compared to her, they're nobodies. Marilyn Monroe was so popular that she ceased to become a human being. "My Week with Marilyn," which is based on a true story, seeks (with limited success) to explore who Marilyn Monroe really was.
Sir Laurence Olivier (Branagh) is directing his new film in England, called "The Prince and the Showgirl." His star is none other than the world famous Marilyn Monroe. Olivier is soon going to regret his decision as his star is unreliable, emotional and a method actor (something that he does not understand very well). He enlists his third assistant director, Colin Clark (Redmayne) to keep an eye on her. It isn't long before he becomes infatuated with her, and she with him.
I'm not the world's biggest fan of Michelle Williams. It's not that she's a bad actress (she's quite good). It's just that she lacks screen presence. She can't hold the camera's attention, and if there's one thing that an actress needs to play Marilyn Monroe, that's it. Eddie Redmayne is a little better, but they generate no heat. He has more chemistry with his other romantic interest, Lucy (an underused Watson). Kenneth Branagh is very good even though his speech patterns slip occasionally. Judi Dench is dreadfully underused, although it's always nice to see her no matter how long she's on screen.
One thing I did like about this movie is that it gives insight into what filmmaking is like. Marilyn is a temperamental star to put it mildly. Laurence Olivier is the egotistic and constantly stressed star. Paula Strasberg (Wanamaker) is more of a leech than Marilyn's acting coach. Milton Greene (Cooper in another fine performance) is the harried producer who will turn a blind eye to Marilyn's behavior and self-destructive tendencies as long as she's happy enough to make the movie. And Colin is the starry-eyed kid half in awe and half infatuated with this celebrity. This stuff, and how these characters respond to Marilyn, rings true.
Simon Curtis has done his research and the look of the film is authentic. The problem is that the shot selection is stale. There's little variety in the shot selection, and I was reminded of Wes Anderson (only in that sense of course...this movie is actually watchable). To his credit, he is able to generate a moderate level of attention when Marilyn makes an entrance, but there's only so much that he can do. Also real is Colin's relationship with his parents (he wants to be a filmmaker, but his father tries to talk him out of it and his mother just humors him). Everyone who wants to do something important feels that way.
I can't trash the movie, and I wouldn't want to. It kept my attention and I was rarely bored. I just wish that the producers had gotten an actress who had "it," as it's commonly called.
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