New Release Review: My Week With Marilyn (Simon Curtis, 2011)

My Week With Marilyn is directed by Simon Curtis and adapted from two memoirs (The Prince, the Showgirl and Me, and My Week With Marilyn) by Colin Clark (portrayed at age 23 by Eddie Redmayne) by Adrian Hodges. The majority of the film depicts the making of the 1957 film, The Prince and the Showgirl, and Clark's experience on the set with director and star Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh), after winning a role as his third assistant director, and the most famous female movie star in the world at the time, Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams). Monroe has recently married Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott) and in addition to moving to England to shoot the film, is on her honeymoon.

Clark's experiences would be the dream of any 23-year-old with a love for the movies, but Hodges and Curtis manage to reveal Marilyn at her most voluptuous and sexy, and her most sad and troubled, while ensuring the film is playful and amusing, and the hyperactive energy of the camera, editing and score aid the tone. When Miller returns to New York, Monroe, who struggles to remember her lines and wastes take after take, much to the frustration of Olivier, becomes a worry. She finds solace in Colin, who is assigned to keep an eye on her. Colin is naïve and innocent and can’t help but fall in love with the lovely Ms. Monroe. As a result of Olivier’s bullying (justified, considering how unreliable Marilyn was), he treats her with sympathy and believes he understands who she really is. Marilyn takes a liking to the youngster, who always seems to be there when she needs him – and for the briefest time, becomes the centre of his world.

The second half, where the film becomes much more serious and chronicles the blossoming friendship/affair between Marilyn and Colin, and Marilyn’s more severe depression, is much less interesting than the playful tone of the first half. Colin’s relationship with Lucy (Emma Watson), a wardrobe girl, was also flimsy and seemed to be there just to cause some level of confliction in Colin’s character. Also, Marilyn’s marriage to Miller was portrayed very minimally. All we really know is that it doesn’t work out. Matilyn is a handful and Miller, a renowned playwright, cannot work in her company. Scott has only has a couple of lines in the whole film.

The first half is more centred on Olivier and Colin, while the second half belongs to Marilyn and Colin, and I thought the balance was handled pretty well. The Prince and the Showgirl was a key chapter in the careers of both Monroe and Olivier. Monroe would next star in Some Like it Hot, while Olivier would return to his previous stage success. I think the film also provides thought-provoking insight into who they actually were as individuals, while acting as an entertaining biopic but thankfully not adhering to the staple form and trying to squeeze the entire life of the figure into the space of a film.

For Williams, it is an astonishing transformation, and though I haven’t seen too many of Marilyn’s films (Some Like It Hot of course), I felt like it was a convincing impression. Seemingly always child-like, wide-eyed and aloof, Marilyn constantly required company (her agent and acting coach were always close at hand), supervision (she was a suicide threat), and continued reassurance about her star quality and acting abilities.

She seemed to have no belief in herself – and the only reason she made it out of bed and into the studio (often hours late) was through an assortment of prescription drugs. She seems to float through her work, often becoming extremely emotional. She was evidently a very troubled young woman and miserable behind her much-beloved public persona. One one occasion, after running carefree through the grass with Colin (Marilyn at her purest and free from judgement) she runs into some fans, prompting her to pose for them. “Should I be her?” she innocently asks Colin with a wink.

Michelle Williams, to look the part (Marilyn was busty and curvy), would have had to put on a bit of weight, and her third Academy Award nomination (though she is unlikely to win here) is certainly justified. Branagh's nomination is very deserved, perfect in recapturing all of Olivier's pompousness. He is perhaps even the film’s highlight. He has a lot of the best lines, and certainly draws plenty of laughs through his aggravation at Marilyn’s unreliability, and acting error. Redmayne was well cast, and seems to be a promising talent, while Judi Dench (as always) and Dominic Cooper were strong.

Marilyn is not a long film, but it did start to drag in the final third. It seems obvious why Colin is infatuated with the starlet, but it is never really explained why Marilyn is so messed up, or offers any insight into her earlier career. This is with the exception of the film’s opening sequence, which captures Colin at a cinema watching with wide-eyed infatuation one of Marilyn’s earlier films.

Supposedly, Marilyn is based on 'true events' though I believe the news of their affair wasn't initially unveiled in Clark's memoirs, but actually recounted in a different document later. I got the sense that their solo escapades may have been somewhat glorified, but really, how would one know? Nevertheless, the playful tone, sharp sense of humour, use of the stunning English countryside, Williams' sympathetic portrayal of the cultural icon, and Branagh's sensational work, result in this being a genuinely entertaining experience.

My Rating: ★★★1/2 (B-)