Dir. Simon Curtis, USA, 2011, 99 mins
Cast: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh. Judi Dench
Review by Carol Allen
In 1956 wannabe film maker Colin Clark, son of eminent art critic Sir Kenneth, worked for six months in a lowly capacity on The Prince and the Showgirl, the film which famously marked Marilyn Monroe’s British movie debut, in which she co-starred with and was directed by theatre legend Sir Laurence Olivier. It was, to put it mildly, a fraught experience for both of them. Clark kept a diary of his experiences and years later published the story, following it up several years later with a more intimate book, “My Week with Marilyn”, which documented the time young Colin spent alone with the screen icon and what a life changing experience it was for him. That second book is the basis of the film.
The result is British film making at its best. Adrian Hodges has written a beautifully structured, lively and often slyly witty screenplay, giving the actors plenty of opportunity to delve into their characters, which they do with gusto. Michelle Williams not only captures the look and mannerisms of Marilyn but her vulnerability, insecurities, neediness, sexual appeal, charm and that famous smile, all of which won not only men’s hearts but women’s too. It is a multi layered performance. Redmayne is appealingly naïve as 23 year old Colin, who becomes her trusted temporary support and confidant, falls in love with her and grows up. The chaste but deeply affectionate relationship between them is beautifully handled and Redmayne gives an effective and very unselfish performance appropriate to the character.
Branagh as Olivier is terrific. He gets the voice, the arrogance and again the vulnerability of the character. Particularly telling is the conflict between the theatrically trained, totally disciplined thespian knight and the instinctive, raw talent that he so admires and yet frustrates him by her lack of professionalism. As he admits to Colin at one point, he wants to be a film star, she wants to be taken seriously as an actress, and that is the basis of both their conflict and their collaboration. Their professional relationship epitomises the change that was happening in dramatic representation at the time, as “kitchen sink” was pushing the “anyone for tennis” play off the stage and the influence of “the Method” was spreading fromAmerica. The sequences on set at Pinewood studios of them shooting the film are fascinating and the reconstructions of scenes from the actual film not only accurate but in them Branagh does a good reconstruction of Olivier’s performance and Williams successfully communicates the spontaneous magic of Marilyn on screen. They also make this a film every aspiring actor should see as a practical lesson in the virtues of both classical training and the then new fangled American approach to “finding the truth” in acting.
There is also a wealth of good supporting performances, most notably Zoe Wanamaker as Paula Strasberg, Marilyn’s acting coach, who is seen by Olivier as a damn nuisance, as she hovers all the time at her charge’s side, supportive and coaxing her performance out of her – a combination of ogre and mother hen. Dougray Scott has an effective cameo as Marilyn’s then new husband, Arthur Miller, who cannot cope with her insecurities. Philip Jackson plays the security man appointed to guard Marilyn from over enthusiastic press and fans, who is sympathetic to his charge and her friendship with young Colin, and Judi Dench is the lively and compassionate Dame Sybil Thorndike – like Olivier, a veteran professional of the old school but one who can see the virtues of the incoming approach and who also, as a human being, can appreciate Marilyn’s position in this alien environment and is kind and supportive to her. It’s another Dame Judi gem of a performance.
xx - posted on 23/05/2012 13:13:28
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Dame Judi’s cameo role worth the work, states Marilyn director…
My Week With Marilyn is about a notoriously difficult film shoot: the making of the 1957 flop The Prince and the Showgirl. It paired the hopelessly mismatched talents of Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier. The stars of the film, which is on UK rel……