Country:
USA/UK
Recognizable Faces:
Michelle Williams
Emma Watson
Julia Ormond
Judi Dench
Eddie Redmayne
Kenneth Branagh
Directed By:
Simon Curtis
Marilyn Monroe is one of the biggest myths of modern society. Everybody knows who she is or at least have seen her face or a simile in an advertisement campaign of some sort. Her mystic charm makes her a permanent icon for classy sex-appeal and glamorous femininity. Books have been written about her, films have been shot. There's not much secret left behind the image. Norma Jean Baker was a confused girl with a knack for acting and getting people's attention. Her iconic facade was well, just a facade after all. MY WEEK WITH MARILYN received major attention from the moment Michelle Williams was confirmed in the lead part. She seemed like the ideal actress for the job, plus she's a darling of both male and female viewers because she is beautiful, talented and doesn't have this generic plastic surgery face that most Hollywood starlets get in hope to land a part in a summer action blockbusters. Safe to say she's also a better actress than most of these girls.
To its credit, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN has an original angle. Inspired by true events, it's centered around the shooting of THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL, with Marilyn Monroe (Williams) and Laurence Olivier (Branagh). The main protagonist isn't the ethereal actress, but some bloke named Colin Clark (Redmayne) who just got hired as a third production assistant by Laurence Olivier Productions. He's a young dreamer with a history of love with cinema and working on this film is life-affirming business for him. But he soon falls in love with Marilyn, who's being pushed around by her method acting coach and has difficulty keeping Norma Jean behind the cracks. She soon falls for the glowing pillar of innocence that is Colin and they start an affair that has more to do with teenage love than heated passion. That steers Marilyn even further away from the film, not to mention that she was newly married to playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott) back then.
Watching MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, it was evident why it was basically swept under the rug for Oscar consideration, despite having such a friendly format to the ceremony. The films doesn't really know what it's trying to say. It doesn't focus on anything in particular. There is Colin's life-affirming choice to work in movies, despite coming from a "serious" academic family. There is his relationship to Marilyn, Marilyn's tumultuous relationship to Arthur Miller (he has the best line of the whole movie: "She's devouring me"), the miserable production of THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL and the whole method acting debate that rages, representing a turning point in the history of cinema. It's trying to show so many things, it doesn't really invest in any part of its script. Some points being also very questionable, like...was Marilyn Monroe really a pioneer of method acting?
Michelle Williams is great in the lead part, but it's not saying much because she's always great. In two years she did SHUTTER ISLAND, BLUE VALENTINE, MEEK'S CUTOFF and now this movie. She came such a long way since DAWSON'S CREEK. The only thing above average MY WEEK WITH MARILYN had to offer is her performance, but the script is such a frantic mess that she doesn't get the screen time she deserves. Eddie Redmayne, the actor with the second most important role, has only one note to display, the blessed surprised of working in movies, the blessed surprised of being able to stick it up to his dad, the best surprise of being chosen by Marilyn, etc. Let's not talk too long about Emma Watson. The lovely young actress' talent is being wasted, here. The part of Lucy is, I'm sure, very important in the book but she could've been cut from the screenplay and the movie would only have been better. Good talent in lousy parts always end up making for a lousy part.
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN is not a particularly painful viewing experience, it's just bland. It rides to many battle horses, tries to lace together so many plot elements that it ends up not investing in anything and making for a forgettable movie. If you're a die-hard fan of Michelle Williams, you might want to watch it because she gives a great performance whenever the camera settles on her. If you're looking to learn a thing or two about Marilyn Monroe and her folklore, just be on your way. MY WEEK WITH MARILYN might do justice to Colin Clark's book about the godmother of all Hollywood divas, but it doesn't do justice to the legendary actress herself. At all.
SCORE: 53%