Dir. Madonna, UK, 2012, 119 mins,
Cast: Andrea Riseborough, Abbie Cornish, James D’Arcy, Oscar Isaac
Review by Juliea Stewart
From first-time feature film writer/director Madonna, W.E. is an ambitious attempt to survey the life of Wallace Simpson (Riseborough), the twice-divorced American socialite, whose love entanglement with no ordinary Englishman (D’Arcy) put his stammering younger brother on the throne.
This is a sweeping study, taking in themes that include the question of destiny and the search for identity, happiness and the meaning of true love, as seen through the eyes of a lonely 1980s woman, Wally (Cornish), whose obsession with the 1930s love-story of the Windsors drives her through extremes of emotion to insights about her own life and that of the Royal pair, caught up in the ‘greatest love story’.
Moments of brilliance entwine with melodrama in this multi-layered biopic, but any flaws are outshone by superb performances from all concerned. Riseborough plays underdog/victim Simpson with a great deal of dignity and likeability but it is Cornish who must rise above a sometimes simplistic characterisation to unify the whole and provide the bedrock of the tale, as Wally daydreams about Wallace and Edward’s lives through their possessions on display and then auction at Sotheby’s.
The production is elegant, even extravagant. Rich in sentimentality and high-drama, serious questions such as the “naïve versus Nazi” issue are touched on only briefly. There is little subtext in either script or execution, with major points reinforced via voice-overs and an overt narrative sumptuously set out, sprinkled with the occasional anachronism. Abel Korzeniowski’s musical score is magnificent, contradicted only by ill-conceived punk rock during a somewhat controversial Benzedrine scene and the final track, Madonna’s Golden Globe winning song ‘Masterpiece’, which plays out over the credits and has more in common with a Bond theme tune than the preceding melodies.
Stylistically, great use is made of extreme close up, occasional rough camera angles and repeated intercutting, both between the timelines and also within scenes. This serves to move the parallel stories along at a good pace, although it may not please all viewers and at one minute shy of two hours, a comfortable seat is a must. The mix of 16mm, 35mm, Super8 and actual documentary footage is mesmerising, reinforcing the brilliant performances.
On the whole it’s a woman’s film, examining how women must make the best of the circumstances of their time and the roles they must play to fulfil their wants and desires. There are interesting observations to be drawn about the power and control men exert on women’s lives and the trappings of situation, both in the 30s and the 80s, but overall the opportunity is missed and the male characters given short shrift. There’s a lovely turn from Oscar Isaac as transplanted Ukrainian intellectual Evgeni, now a Sotheby’s security guard, providing deft and much appreciated moments of gentle humour, but often his character, as with the other male leads, especially the horrible husbands (Wallace’s first and poor Richard Coyle as Wally’s), appears to fulfil merely functional requirements. The men are little more than plot props.
W.E tells us that all women are in search of the fairy tale love with a happy ending, which is denied to some whilst granted to others, dependent to some degree on the luck of circumstances but finally attributed to destiny.
Wallace is drawn as a woman, who did what she could with what assets she had in her person (she was most certainly attractive, amusing and intelligent), along with whatever came along by way of opportunity and gifts. Edward spoiled her with jewellery and his attentions, but in time she came to find this suffocating. Although we are made to feel sympathetic towards her in particular, ultimately both seem to have led vacuous self-centred lives, him sacrificing everything for them (the WE – their initials – of the title), only to find that ‘each other’ was a gilded prison, particularly in exile both socially and geographically. To explore fully why Edward gave up his throne would involve a closer look at the man himself and an inspection of his motivations might well cast Wallis in a different light. The abdication speech is truly moving, hinting at family jealousies that run deep. Was this abdication in some sense a kind of revenge? Or a running away from responsibilities and duty? In that light, Wallace is instantly seen as scapegoat.
Unlike in The King’s Speech, to which this film provides a counterpoint in tone and focus, Bertie’s wife Elizabeth, the future Queen Mum (Natalie Dormer) is seen as underhand, indignant and dominating – the deciding and driving force behind the new King’s decision to keep his brother and Wallace in exile. It is however noted that despite dying in exile inFrance, both Edward and Wallace are buried in Royal graves inEngland.
My fellow reviewers reacted somewhat unkindly with repeated tittering to the appearance in the story of Al Fayed (Haluk Bilginer) as owner of the correspondence between the Duke and Duchess. Although in some regards Fayed is a figure of mockery in modernBritain, he is nonetheless grocer to our present Queen and must surely have some skill and acumen in accruing and maintaining a great fortune and business empire. It seems matters of class and what constitutes classiness still run deep within the British psyche and this film is unlikely to challenge assumptions about Wallace as a brash foreigner and a social-climber, who compromised the King, even if ultimately this wasn’t of her choosing: she asked that he let her go and clearly he would not. As Evgeni observes “What is trivial to one is not to another”.
Despite weaknesses that will surely be magnified by critics simply because this is a Madonna production, W.E. is a beautiful piece of entertainment, steeped in style and superb performances, which deals with themes that touch all human lives: the struggle between intellect and feelings – rational minds and passionate, sometimes desperate hearts. Well worth seeing.
- posted on 24/05/2012 00:25:44
Dosto, this time i can ustdrneand why are you much warred time! Good work.. keep up .