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Anyone doubting the layered, nuanced, and heartbreaking acting abilities of Michelle Williams will find My Week with Marilyn a tremendous revelation. And Williams fans will enjoy it even more. In My Week with Marilyn Williams takes on the formidable challenge of playing Marilyn Monroe, and does so with depth and assuredness, and without resorting to caricature. Williams's Marilyn commands the screen with pain and delicacy, and doesn't let go until the final credits. My Week with Marilyn focuses on a small time frame in Monroe's life, right after her marriage to Arthur Miller. Monroe, already "the world's most famous woman," still feels the need for validation as an actress. What better way to achieve that, she believes, than committing to costarring with Laurence Olivier in The Prince and the Showgirl, a film she firmly believed would finally cement her reputation as a serious actress. My Week with Marilyn is based on the short memoir of Colin Clark, a crew member on The Prince and the Showgirl, who quickly became the confidant of the wildly insecure Monroe and watched a train wreck of egos--mostly Olivier's and Monroe's--collide in a fiery near-disaster. Kenneth Branagh gives an uncharacteristically restrained performance as the exasperated Olivier, resentful of the "new blood" in Hollywood that the young Monroe represents, and disdainful of her cult-like devotion to Method acting. (And of Monroe's chronic tardiness, which threatens to undermine the veddy, veddy strict British work schedule.) Eddie Redmayne plays Clark with a sweet, gentle veneer, someone who grows to care genuinely about the complex Monroe. Julia Ormond is clipped and proper as Olivier's then-wife, Vivien Leigh, and Emma Watson shows a lovely gravitas as Lucy, Monroe's acting coach. But it's Williams who gives the revelatory performance, capturing with painful intensity the insecurity that begins to seep out of Monroe like a fearful sweat. "Excuse my horrible face," she blurts out, while looking nothing less than her usual radiant self. Where does this tragic insecurity come from? My Week with Marilyn doesn't attempt to answer the unanswerable, but instead shines a light on the very real woman who became lost in the giant shadow of legend. --A.T. Hurley
From the Studio
In the early summer of 1956, 25 year-old Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), just down from Oxford and determined to make his way in the film business, worked as a lowly assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl. The film that famously united Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) and Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams), who was also on honeymoon with her new husband, Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott).
Nearly 40 years on, his diary account, "The Prince, the Showgirl and Me" was published, but one week was missing and this was published some years later as "My Week with Marilyn"-- this is the story of that week. When Arthur Miller leaves England, the coast is clear for Colin to introduce Marilyn to some of the pleasure of British life; an idyllic week in which he escorted a Monroe desparate to get away from her routine of Hollywood hangers-on and the pressures of work.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
When I went to see this movie in December, inwardly I was lamenting the overall quality of movies in 2011, with a plethora of remakes, reboots and sequels, and I wondered if Hollywood was running out of fresh ideas, while recycling the same formulas. Remakes/reboots in 2011 included Straw Dogs, Footloose, Arthur, The Thing, Conan, Spy Kids, Final Destination 5, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Some of the movies were high quality such as Girl with the dragon tattoo, and Xmen First Class.
Last year Michelle Williams deservedly received her second Academy Award nomination for Blue Valentine, and now she is nominated for the role of Marilyn Monroe. I liked this movie enormously, and was disappointed that it did not get nominated for Best Picture instead of Extremely Loud and Incredibly close, a dubious choice.
Nevertheless politics being what it is if MWWM was nominated it might give the appearance of Weinstein Studios having too much sway with the Academy Awards, as they also released the Artist with 11 nominations, and the appalling Iron Lady whose only redeeming grace is Meryl Streeps nominated performance. They also released last years winner The Kings Speech.
What Michelle Williams and the movie delivers is a very delicately nuanced and multi dimensional portait of Marilyn that we have not seen previously, those shifts in personality, her ability to be vunerable, to charm, to seduce and manipulate, and if you are Larry Olivier the ability to frustrate your ambition to make an incredible movie. In a perhaps ironic twist in view of recent events we see the entourage of people who can't say no or risk punishment by exclusion.
So we have a young wideeyed man who through connections gets his first job in the business working for Olivier, and responsible for keeping things even with Marilyn. As they grow closer you wonder if he will be able to negotiate the magic and tragic web. After all what red blooded man could resist Marilyn. He has a more realistic alternative in Emma Watson's delightful character without all Marilyn's sticky strings. Here is where the movie takes some liberties on the book on which it's based, but the will they won't they aspect will keep you guessing after the final credits roll. The movie captures the period very well.
Although most attention has focused on the performance of Michelle Williams, I loved the performance of Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier. He listened to Oliver on audio to perfect the mannerisms and the lines, and even had the exact same shoes custom made to fit the part.
It seems fitting that someone who has spent a career following in Olivier's footsteps, acting Shakespeare and bringing the plays to the screen, may finally get the Academy Award for walking in his shoes.
It's clear here that he is a superior actor, and perfectly achieves both his theatrical mannerisms and intonations particularly rolling the R's. At the end of the movie he delivers a portion of a soliloquy from Prospero in The Tempest. This for me was like a spiritual experience, it was so sublime. Naturally, I hope that he wins although Christopher Plummer appears to the stern competition this year winning several awards in the runup including the Golden Globe.
When I left this movie I felt optimistic and relieved at finally sweeing a good movie. Shortly afterwards all the best movies were released in time for an Oscar run including The Descendants, The Artist, Warhorse, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Hugo. So, if you want to be an Oscar contender release your movie in December.
Recently we have seen a trend in the Academy Awards toward real life characters with Marion Cotillard winning for portraying Edith Piaf, Helen Mirren for playing the queen. Colin Firth for playing a king.
I loved this movie. I think you will enjoy it, and I hope this was helpful.
Some of the movies were high quality such as Girl with the dragon tattoo, and Xmen First Class.
Last year Michelle Williams deservedly received her second Academy Award nomination for Blue Valentine, and now she is nominated for the role of Marilyn Monroe. I liked this movie enormously, and was disappointed that it did not get nominated for Best Picture instead of Extremely Loud and Incredibly close, a dubious choice.
Nevertheless politics being what it is if MWWM was nominated it might give the appearance of Weinstein Studios having too much sway with the Academy Awards, as they also released the Artist with 11 nominations, and the appalling Iron Lady whose only redeeming grace is Meryl Streeps nominated performance. They also released last years winner The Kings Speech.
What Michelle Williams and the movie delivers is a very delicately nuanced and multi dimensional portait of Marilyn that we have not seen previously, those shifts in personality, her ability to be vunerable, to charm, to seduce and manipulate, and if you are Larry Olivier the ability to frustrate your ambition to make an incredible movie. In a perhaps ironic twist in view of recent events we see the entourage of people who can't say no or risk punishment by exclusion.
So we have a young wideeyed man who through connections gets his first job in the business working for Olivier, and responsible for keeping things even with Marilyn. As they grow closer you wonder if he will be able to negotiate the magic and tragic web. After all what red blooded man could resist Marilyn. He has a more realistic alternative in Emma Watson's delightful character without all Marilyn's sticky strings. Here is where the movie takes some liberties on the book on which it's based, but the will they won't they aspect will keep you guessing after the final credits roll. The movie captures the period very well.
Although most attention has focused on the performance of Michelle Williams, I loved the performance of Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier. He listened to Oliver on audio to perfect the mannerisms and the lines, and even had the exact same shoes custom made to fit the part.
It seems fitting that someone who has spent a career following in Olivier's footsteps, acting Shakespeare and bringing the plays to the screen, may finally get the Academy Award for walking in his shoes.
It's clear here that he is a superior actor, and perfectly achieves both his theatrical mannerisms and intonations particularly rolling the R's. At the end of the movie he delivers a portion of a soliloquy from Prospero in The Tempest. This for me was like a spiritual experience, it was so sublime. Naturally, I hope that he wins although Christopher Plummer appears to the stern competition this year winning several awards in the runup including the Golden Globe.
When I left this movie I felt optimistic and relieved at finally sweeing a good movie. Shortly afterwards all the best movies were released in time for an Oscar run including The Descendants, The Artist, Warhorse, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Hugo. So, if you want to be an Oscar contender release your movie in December.
Recently we have seen a trend in the Academy Awards toward real life characters with Marion Cotillard winning for portraying Edith Piaf, Helen Mirren for playing the queen. Colin Firth for playing a king.
I loved this movie. I think you will enjoy it, and I hope this was helpful.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Received quickly up blister! The product had the bilingual version english / french.
I'm very happy! I hope that the next orders, shall have more the bilingual version english / french. Thanks!
Best regards
JC Liberatore
I'm very happy! I hope that the next orders, shall have more the bilingual version english / french. Thanks!
Best regards
JC Liberatore
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By koolz03
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
I loved this movie! I liked how it portrayed Monroe as not the "Marilyn Monroe" as we all have read and seen her to be, but as a real human being battling her own demons and conflicts. Very well done!
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
informative other world view of 50's icon
One of the best films of an american in England is Notting Hill and in today's world is comparable to Marilyn's entry in LOndon in 1956? Read more
Published 6 days ago by Anthony Marinelli
3.0 out of 5 stars
MISSING THE "IT" SPARK
During the filming of "The Prince and the Showgirl" (London 1956) Colin Clark - 3rd Assistant Director on the movie spent some private time with Marilyn Monroe. Read more
Published 1 month ago by little lady blue
2.0 out of 5 stars
superb Michelle Williams can't save this
Beyond the shadow of a doubt Michelle Williams is brilliant in her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe. The movie itself is so slow and plodding that that brilliance is wasted. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Brian Maitland
3.0 out of 5 stars
My Week with Marilyn
The acting in this movie was very good, but the story really doesn't go anywhere other than to show the superficial nature of actors.
Published 9 months ago by James Hadden
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intéressant!
Ce film , basé sur des faits réels , nous raconte le tournage d`un film que Marilyn Monroe a fait en Angleterre avec Laurence Olivier. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ben Mears
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just okay
The troubled production of "The Prince and the Showgirl" in 1957, as seen through the eyes of a young crewman, focuses on the emotionally fragile Marilyn Monroe (Michelle... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Kona
Listmania!
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