MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

My Week With Marilyn (2011)
Grade: B
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Dominic Cooper, Zoe Wanamaker, Julia Ormond, Emma Watson, Judi Dench, Phillip Jackson, Toby Jones, Dougray Scott, and Derek Jacobi
PREMISE: Based on the true story of Colin Clark, who, as a young man trying to make his way in the film business, became an unlikely confidant and object of affection for popular sex symbol Marilyn Monroe.

RATED R for language and brief nudity

Fifty years after her death, Marilyn Monroe remains the ultimate bombshell and enduring sex symbol. Posters of her in long white dresses, gussied up and blowing kisses, can be found in the same poster selections that feature today’s sweethearts like Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. Some of her movies (Some Like It Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) remain classics, Monroe-centered gossip (she was married to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, allegedly had affairs with Jack and Bobby Kennedy) still appear on the pages of tabloids, and her iconic halo of beach blonde hair, and seductively flowing skirts and dresses, have been attempted often, but never duplicated. No one has, or, probably, ever will have, her timeless appeal.

Thus, considering that My Week with Marilyn is based on a true story-that a young man just breaking into the film business actually got to get up close and personal with the Marilyn Monroe-makes the film incredibly intriguing. It just wouldn’t be the same today, not only because there are so few secrets and you can get to know seemingly anyone if you search the Internet hard enough, or because even our most popular contemporary leading ladies (Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston) don’t have that spark—we’re talking about Hollywood’s Golden Age. The young man in question-Colin Clark, on whose diaries the film is based-got to work with Sir Laurence Olivier, his beau Vivien Leigh (Gone With the Wind) and, of course, a woman whose breath-taking face and aura remain familiar today.

Plot: Through a refusal to say no, a willingness to do anything, and good old-fashioned stubbornness, ambitious 23-year-old Colin (Eddie Redmayne) gets the chance to work as Third Assistant Director on a movie starring the world-famous, classically-trained Olivier (a fantastic Kenneth Branagh). The presence of Olivier, plus revered actress Dame Sybil Thorndike (Dame Judi Dench), makes the movie, The Prince and The Showgirl, an event in and of itself, even before Monroe (a disarming Michelle Williams) confirms that she’ll take the role of that Showgirl. When she does, the world nearly explodes. Press attention doubles, triples. Security increases. Fanfare increases. But Colin soon sees that Monroe isn’t quite the divine goddess she appears to be on the screens, shaking her hips and blowing kisses. She has her moments, yes, what with her wit, her beautiful smile, her seductive winks, but, she’s also a young woman trying to find her place in life. She may easily usurp Leigh (Julia Ormond) as the hottest actress around, but she seems scared of the big world around her, huddling alongside her famous playwright husband, Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), or her acting coach (Zoe Wanamaker). Olivier, with his obvious talent and his strict demands on her schedule and acting approach, frightens her. And, when Colin shows real care for her-not just a desire to eyeball her-she begins to trust him, and, when Miller goes home to escape the media and visit his children, she opens up to Colin as she has to no one else, looking for a way to escape the pressure of her celebrity life.

What Works?
In two words: the cast. Imagine what you could do, as a studio director, with-say-five years of this ensemble working on your every film. With proven talents like Williams, Branagh, Dench and Ormond, plus young, exciting talents like Redmayne and Emma Watson (of Harry Potter fame)-who plays a girl working on the movie’s costume designs and Colin’s chance for a real girlfriend-you could do anything. Even those in smaller roles, like Derek Jacobi, Toby Jones, Dominic Cooper, Scott, and Wanamaker, could be leads in other films. What a group, and what a treat for a movie fan.

Redmayne is in nearly every scene, and he excels at portraying Colin’s mix of youthful awkwardness, boyish charm, and earnest romanticism, but all eyes are, of course, on Williams. The former Dawson’s Creek star (who, thankfully, seems barely recognizable from her days on the melodramatic teen program), has arguably one of the toughest roles an actress could have: the Marilyn Monroe. She looks the part (and it’s a beautiful one—with her full lips, bright blue eyes, curly blonde hair, and lithe figure, she’s unmistakably gorgeous) but I was surprised at the approach the movie takes with presenting her. This movie is not about her perceived persona, not about the posters or the celebrity gossip or the winks. What it is, really, is about the Monroe behind the scenes. As we soon find, Monroe is unreliable as an actress. She’s late on the set, she forgets her lines, she misses workdays because she’s sick/mourning in bed, she barely speaks to her husband, and she sometimes seems like a child in a diva’s body.

That’s the approach the movie takes and, though it’s a little awkward at first, you later get the sense that not only Monroe (if that was, indeed, what she was like) but many young starlets-who start hearing that they’re “the next big thing” at increasingly young ages-feel like she does here—like a deer in the headlights as everyone around them tries to make her what they want her to be. Williams’ innocence is striking, her immaturity almost shocking, at times, for a grown woman, but you get it. She cries and complains about Olivier’s domineering approach, she hates herself for rushing into marriage, she feels like there’s no one she can trust; she’s more comfortable stripping down to go skinny-dipping with Colin than she is walking onto a movie set where all cameras and all eyes are upon her. It’s not the performance I was expecting, but it’s a beautiful one. She proves memorable, and believable, as the person behind the iconic posters and winks.

Elsewhere, Branagh’s outrageous bluster is a sight to behold-he owns the first half of the film, before more time is dedicated to the Marilyn/Colin dynamic-Ormond conveys both warmth and bitterness as a proud actress who knows her day has passed, and Dench has some nice moments as an even prouder actress who’s nonetheless willing to reach out to the most attractive actress on set.

For good measure, the scenery is beautiful, the pace is quick and entertaining, and the laughs essentially balance out with the drama.

What Doesn’t Work?
The movie’s a little uneven—Monroe isn’t really a major character until about a half hour in, and then you start to realize the kind of depiction of her you’re getting. It’s also unfortunate that, with this cast, more of the actors don’t get more to do (only Redmayne, Williams, and Branagh really get to flesh out their portrayals).

Content?
There are brief glimpses of Williams’ backside, but, other than that, the R rating comes solely courtesy of the four-letter words, most of them courtesy of Branagh’s increasingly-frustrated Olivier, who finds in Marilyn possibly the one person in the world he can’t charm, persuade, or bully into being who he wants her to be.

Bottom line (I promise):
It’s not the most exciting movie, and some of you may grow a little tired of the diva-like antics (though, in all fairness, why do we call them divas if not for acting like Williams does here?), but this true story carries considerable intrigue for movie/celebrity fans, and a hefty emotional layer for fans of romance.

My Week With Marilyn (2011)
Based on the Books "My Week With Marilyn" and "The Prince, The Showgirl, and Me" by Colin Clark
Directed by Simon Curtis
Written by Adrian Hodges
Rated R for language and brief nudity
Length: 99 minutes