My Week With Marilyn: Movie Review

Cast: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Dominic Cooper, Eddie Redmayne, Judi Dench, Emma Watson
Director: Simon Curtis

So, the cult of Marilyn gets another outing - this time with Oscar noms for Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh.

Based on a book by Colin Clark, written about an affair Colin had with Marilyn while she was working on The Prince and The Showgirl, this biographical piece stars Redmayne as Clark in 1950s Britain.

Despite his naivete Clark longs to break into the world of films and showbiz and pulling a few strings (and due to an annoying persistence) he lands a job as a third assistant director on The Prince and The Showgirl which is being directed by Laurence Olivier (Branagh) and stars Marilyn Monroe (Williams).

Marilyn's used to the showbiz life and brings with her all the glamour of the era as she graces the set with her presence; but despite everyone being enamoured with her persona, she proves to be hopeless on set and sends Olivier into a directing tailspin as she fluffs lines, doesn't show when she should and sets the pic behind schedule.

However, Clark, despite romancing one of the set's staff Lucy (Watson), ends up in a whirlwind romance with Monroe when her new husband playwright Arthur Miller leaves her side to write back in America.

Despite Clark being warned she'll break his heart, he carries on - and the tension off the set becomes as bad as the tension on the set.

My Week with Marilyn is as light and frothy as one of those swanky coffees you buy in an upmarket bistro - it's all froth and little substance; in some ways, it's redolent of Me and Orson Welles in places at the start as we watch Clark in awe of a truly brilliant Branagh as Laurence Olivier. The sparkling script, witty repartie and biting sarcasm from Olivier is very, very funny and Branagh does a brilliant job of delivering it to maximum comic effect. It's easy to see why he was nominated for an Oscar for this snide performance.

Michelle Williams' turn as Marilyn also garnered her a statue nod. Don't get me wrong, she's good in the role as she skirts around Marilyn's addictions, and scattiness but there's never really a defining moment which makes you think she's nailed it. When she asks Colin if she should turn it on and "be that person" for a crowd, there's an inkling that she's nailed the posturing and moments. Sure, she manages to ooze some of Monroe's sex appeal and it's a good portrayal, but it's never a great portrayal.

Equally the story itself isn't particularly riveting and enduring- while there's a great performance from Dame Judi Dench as an actress who's sympathetic to Marilyn's fluffing of lines and problems on set, when the film flicks from the on set antics to the love "affair" between Marilyn and Colin, the film stumbles and loses some of the energy and joie de vive it previously had as it saunters lacksadaisically toward the end.

Ultimately My Week With Marilyn is a great film to grab the girls together for and for them to wallow in its slight casualness.

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