Film Review: My Week with Marilyn

Eddie Redmayne steps away from the more emotionally demented characters he portrayed in Savage Grace and Hick as Colin Clark, who, with a simple gesture from Marilyn Monroe, moves from his position as a fly on the wall to the center of the room.

Based on Clark’s memoir The Prince, the Showgirl, and Me, My Week with Marilyn accounts the brief affair the rich and privileged young man finds himself in, after procuring a lowly assistant job on a movie set.  It’s Laurence Olivier’s first romantic comedy behind the camera for which he is also a star.  Having directed three Shakespearean dramas, Olivier hoped to elevate his respect as a great actor to Hollywood stardom, while star Monroe pined for the opposite.  A movie about movie-making, there is great fun to be had. 

Filmed in gorgeous, flattering light, and impeccably costumed and art-directed, My Week shows a bland biography of her whole life is unnecessary.  The movie covers a lot of territory in only a short period in her career.  Some tacky voice-over narration frames the film, while it often becomes episodic, but the movie mostly aims for Monroe’s essence.  We get a biographical sketch of the woman as she is known to the general public: the little girl lost whose presence and personality can overtake one’s complete use of their faculties and judgment.  While Monroe seduces Colin, just as she did her audience, the movie shows us from a distance just how that all came to be.

An all star cast includes Judi Dench (as empathetic, wise actress Sybil Thorndike), Dominic Cooper (as Monroe’s East Coast hardball producing partner and friend Milton Greene), Emma Watson (a cute fictitious wardrobe assistant named Lucy), an unrecognizable Dougray Scott (Monroe’s frustrated third husband and playwright Arthur Miller), Zoe Wanamaker (as Monroe’s acting coach and confidant Paula Strasberg and Toby Jones.  Kenneth Branaugh has a good time pursing his lips with his interpretation of Laurence Olivier (or Larry, as Monroe, refers to him).  Lamentably, Julia Ormond disappoints as Vivian Leigh.  She serves a purpose as the witty wife waiting for her husband to fall prey to the charms of the bombshell American, yet, she fails to live up to expectations in the film the same way Williams does in the trailer.  Perhaps a greater context was necessary.

At the center of it all is, of course, Michelle Williams, who gives the performance that fuels the whole film.  There is a lot of quick editing when we first meet Monroe.  The camera ducks and weaves harsh comparisons between Williams and the woman she’s portraying, until the story settles into itself and the audience can judge her performance based not so much on mimicry but capturing the heart of the character. 

Curtis has the magic touch to hide William’s shortcomings, as any other actress would also possess, at perfectly imitating the physicality and soul of the movie icon, while accentuating her adeptness at bringing the woman to life.  It’s difficult to appreciate her work out of context (the underwhelming trailer for example).  She doesn’t defy expectations and (thankfully) attempt straight-out aping of her voice, mannerisms and innocence (who in Hollywood could?).  After a wonky start that goes for broke where Williams doesn’t exactly torch the screen, she sinks seamlessly into the role.  Her subtle execution, coupled with her grasp of her character, make for a mesmerizing performance.  Williams absolutely melts the screen, both the one we watch, as well as the ones the characters view in the cinema and during rushes. 

Williams sets the standard for portraying legends, working from the inside out.  She makes it easy for the audience to project their preconceived notions onto her performance, because everything that is necessary is there.  What she lacks in impersonation, she makes up for with emotion.  In a sweet and beguiling performance, Williams steps forward as one of the preeminent actors of her generation and out a string of roles that tend to blur together, to offer something different and new, and outside her comfort zone. 

Box Office Prediction

Similar in scope to The King’s Speech, it has all the makings of a platform release that can take off by word-of-mouth.  With Harvey Weinstein at the helm of the marketing and general Marilyn Monroe interest, $20M minimum, I’d say.  But, unlike Speech, the theme of overcoming adversity isn’t as universal here.  The movie is much more specific to the appeal of a movie star.  And what is her draw still exactly?  I’m just not sure how much pull that could have at the box-office.  $80M seems ridiculous.  $50 - $60 seems like a safe bet, if it takes off. 

Oscar Outlook

Best Actress is inevitable.  At this point, a win might be a foregone conclusion, but we still have to wait for unseen eligible performances to finally surface.  As far as other nominations, Williams could pull Kenneth Branagh to a nod.  Costume Design and Art Direction seem like good bets.  If the film is a hit, more could await, but those are the three or four categories that will most likely be the first to be singled out.

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