Cast: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Zoe Wanamaker, Judi Dench, Emma Watson and Dominic Cooper
Director: Simon Curtis
Ratings: 3.5/5
Even if you are unaware of Monroe's charm, William's Monroe is spectacular!
By Priyanka Ketkar
Reprising the role of a legendary person is no child's play and when it comes to someone like Marilyn Monroe with so much talent, charm and fame; it becomes more of a challenge than simply a tribute. There is bound to be comparison and the Monroe-lovers might find it hard to believe that anyone can look, act or dance like Monroe; but according to me, when it comes to director Simon Curtis's My Week With Marilyn, Michelle Williams, has done a spectacular job of putting life in to Marilyn Monroe.
Her stage fright, her inability to remember her dialogues, her innocence and her wittiness is how Monroe is portrayed in the film. Based on two books by Colin Clark, My Week With Marilyn depicts Monroe's life during the filming of her 1957 movie The Prince and the Showgirl.
Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) is willing to do anything to be a part of the film world. His first, big break comes as he gets to work as the third assistant to the director on the film The Prince and The Showgirl. But this is not just any movie...it is a movie with the iconic Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) and the mesmerizing Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams). The shooting begins and so do the problems. Marilyn, who wants to break through her image of being the blonde bombshell and be considered as a seriously talented actress, has her trusted method acting coach, friend and guide Paula Starsberg (Zoe Wanamaker) along with her. But this slow process of making her get into the character's skin and also having to deal with her tantrums, her mood swings etc is too much for the proud Sir Laurence to take. Meanwhile Monroe's marriage to Arthur Miller is going through a rough phase. With Arthur gone away for a while, Marilyn becomes even worse until she finds a buddy in Collin.
Monroe is continuously seeking love and approval from those around her. She is surprised each time someone calls her the "greatest actress ever" or praises her for her talent. This again seems to be less to do with ignorance and more to do with her low self-esteem. But then again, there are times when she is so confident about herself that you are taken aback by her and are unable to decide if it is the same Monroe. For e.g.: When Clark asks her to get out more and visit the sites in Britain, she responds saying, "I am the sites"... Monroe is innocent, but she is also pretty calculative and manipulative. Is this purely out of her innocence or is that how her mind works is hard to decipher. For a while you feel pity for the young Colin and detest Monroe's behavior of treating the men in her life as toys but that impression doesn't last long. In fact, you start feeling sympathetic towards Monroe for all she wants is maybe only love.
How do I know all this about Marilyn Monroe? Have I seen any of her work? No. Have I read up on her? No. I simply deciphered all of this from the movie 'coz the movie spoke to me about her; Williams spoke to me about Monroe. Michelle Williams has done such a spectacular job of portraying the sweet, innocent, and helpless at times yet with a strong character at other times and the simply magnificent, Marilyn Monroe that it becomes very easy to understand Curtis's Monroe. Since I haven't seen Marilyn Monroe, I cannot compare Michelle's performance but I think that is better 'coz although I don't know if she lives up to the expectations set by Monroe herself, Michelle's performance as an independent actress is brilliant.
The rest of the cast is also very good. Judi Dench shines in her small but impactful role, so does Julia Ormond. Dominic Cooper and Emma Watson are the two actors with tremendous potential who are completely wasted. Eddie Redmayne's performance is nothing extraordinary. No matter whom we talk about, and despite the fact that it is a Marilyn Monroe movie, you will agree after watching it that it is actually a Michelle Williams movie all the way.
As for the rest of the movie is concerned, right from the sets, to the fashion of that time, everything is so perfect that it is hard to believe that this was shot now and not at that time. Even the music is very classy. I especially liked the song- "When love goes wrong, nothing goes right..."
Like I said earlier, I don't know if Williams matches up to the legendary Marilyn Monroe or not, but I do know that she has tried and tried really hard to bring us as close to Monroe and her story, as she possibly could.
Finally, My Week With Marilyn has a lot to offer to everyone- We have a story to cherish, Monroe has another tribute for her and Michelle Williams, well, she has the memory of this movie for which she will be remembered for a long, long time.