My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Genre: Biographical

Directed by: Simon Curtis

Starring: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne

Running time: 101 minutes

Based on two books written by Colin Clark, My Week with Marilyn tells the story of the making of the movie The Prince and The Showgirl, starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier.

In My Week with Marilyn, Colin Clark, who is coming out of university, dreams of working in the movies. His father does not understand such a pipe dream, but the young man leaves to find the first job that will bring him closer to that dream. That first job is as one of Laurence Olivier’s assistants on the set of The Prince and The Showgirl.

Eddie Redmayne is good enough as fresh-faced and big-dreaming Colin Clark, who finds himself way over his head, but still manages to swim, in a world of egos and temperamental people.

It is Michelle Williams, though, as Marilyn Monroe, who comes shining through the screen. She brings the deceased movie princess back to life with such force; it is a beautiful thing to witness. She shows us Marilyn’s vulnerability and fragility, her sensitivity towards everything around her that could hurt her. Marilyn was going into unchartered waters here; by going to England to play a role she had difficulty grasping, she was risking big and she felt out of place and insecure. Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) was not much help, not being much in tune with the young blonde’s artistic temperament.

This is a movie to see. Great acting on everyone’s part and a compelling true story being told.

Rating: ««««