FILM REVIEW: 'MY WEEK WITH MARILYN'

Oscar-Nominated Actress Michelle Williams Dazzles in Marilyn Monroe Biographical Drama

By: Sam Kellett

December 23, 2011

(The Weinstein Company) With images as striking and subtle as the themes it explores, My Week with Marilyn combines superb performances with a gaze at the architecture and countryside of England in the 1950s. The story follows Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) -- a young man eager to be involved in the film industry -- as he stumbles into an unlikely romance with the beautifully tragic Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams).

Marilyn comes to England surrounded by an entourage of people who control her. Her only confidant is her acting coach, Paula (Zoe Wanamaker), whose opinion Marilyn trusts more than her own thoughts. As she and Colin come to know each other on set, they form a flirtatious friendship that hints at more, upsetting Marilyn’s people; her husband; and Lucy (Emma Watson), the girl Colin had begun to date. As Marilyn spirals into depression and self-doubt, Colin becomes the only person she will open up to and the person who can motivate her to go to work on the set.

Kenneth Branagh stands out in the film with his portrayal of the late, great Sir Lawrence Olivier. A long-time fan of Olivier, Branagh tackles the role with gusto, contrasting the man’s unbridled rage and coolly controlled skill as he attempts to direct and star in a film across from Marilyn Monroe. Michelle Williams gives an excellent performance as Marilyn, cutting through the legendary woman’s mask and showing the lost and confused girl underneath. She seamlessly switches between sex icon Marilyn, who sparkles for the cameras and keeps the press laughing, and sad, tragic Marilyn, who can’t go to sleep or wake up without pills and emotional support. Eddie Redmayne shows his acting chops as the film’s lead, but the scenes that really explode are when Marilyn and Olivier face off on screen.

My Week with Marilyn is as much a look at different acting techniques as it is a love story. Olivier’s frustration with Marilyn’s slow-moving “Method” acting echoes arguments that have existed in the acting community for decades. The two clash over her constant lateness, her fragile ego, and her insistence on listening to her acting coach. Marilyn spends a great deal of time becoming the character, rather than Olivier’s own view of acting as the art of lying convincingly. They come from different worlds: Marilyn is a movie star, while Olivier is known for the stage. As Colin says to Marilyn, “…he's a great actor who wants to be a film star, and you're a film star who wants to be a great actress.”

The film is tied together, as the title suggests, with the theme of fleeting love. Marilyn’s manager (Dominic Cooper) warningly tells Colin the story of his brief tryst with Marilyn; Olivier’s wife (Julia Ormond) constantly mentions her husband’s desire for Marilyn, bemoaning how the world has no place for an older woman; and Colin’s relationship with Lucy fades before it begins. My Week with Marilyn leaves the viewer with a bittersweet feeling. Yes, all good things are fleeting, all good things must end, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth doing.

For Fans Of: Some Like It Hot, A Very Long Engagement, acting technique, the British

Why We Like It: Kenneth Branagh, Jokes for Industry Types, Olivi-yay