Another look back at a good 'un ~ My Week With Marilyn

Quite by chance, I found myself watching My Week With Marilyn this week, as it was premiered on BBC Television for the first time.Though it is a few years old now, I did see this one at the cinema (at an extortionate London cinema price if memory serves!) and I thoroughly enjoyed it then, as I did when seeing it on the telly, so I thought I'd do a piece on it, offering my two penny worth .

In essential terms, the film is based upon the true story of a time during which Marilyn Monroe was in England filming the Sir Lawrence Olivier production The Prince and the Showgirl in 1957. The film focuses upon the ups and downs of the process, as well as the infamous screen star's relationships throughout, including the one she briefly shared with 3rd Assistant Director Colin Clark, upon whose memoirs the film takes inspiration from.

The titular role belongs to Michelle Williams. In this film, Michelle Williams is Marilyn Monroe, and that's an end of it. As far as I can see, she was pretty much perfect. Portraying Marilyn Monroe's roller-coaster of a life, even in this supposedly short time frame, to a tee, she thus gives us as an audience a crisp, authentic and emotive representation of the woman generally; all encompassing, in minute detail, and everything in between. Michelle Williams' Marilyn Monroe is to me, the perfect blend and combination of sheer mesmerizing beauty, tense fragility, charming naivety, sassy sensuality, cheeky and hilarious charm, and utter stardom with every move made. There is no doubt in my mind that she was utterly deserving of this role and this film, possibly even so far as to say she was born to play Marilyn Monroe. 

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Michelle Williams is very much the stand out star of the show as Marilyn Monroe, but no. Another big casting piece of My Week With Marilyn, comes in the form of Sir Kenneth Branagh, who plays Sir Lawrence Olivier; a brilliantly iconic actor playing another brilliantly iconic actor. Like Williams as Monroe, Branagh as Olivier is another one of those incredibly poignant, and almost tailor made casting decisions. The resulting scenes with Kenneth Branagh give us numerous fantastic moments of measured drama, smoldering chemistry, hilarious eccentricity and cinematic gold.

Yet that is again not all. In fact, when you look at it, My Week With Marilyn becomes a wonderful ensemble production with a truly fantastic cast, almost all of which deliver fantastic performances that stand out brilliantly. Of course we have Eddie Redmayne as a principal character, but we also have wonderfully well received appearances from the great Dame Judi Dench who is simply and sweetly endearing, Dougray Scott portrays legendary playwright Arthur Miller, and we even see another legend in the form of Sir Derek Jacobi. And that is still not all; I haven't even mentioned Emma Watson, Dominic Cooper, and Simon Russell Beale, along with many many more, and all of them seem perfectly fitted into the film.

So yes, the cast are mostly all brilliant, the script and story are fantastic, the locations and cinematography are beautiful, as is the music; My Week With Marilyn is shaping up to be a great film.

I mentioned rising star Eddie Redmayne, who broadly speaking gives a very good performance as Colin Clark. The film in many ways centers around Clark just as much as it does Monroe, and why not? It is a film based on his diaries, and as I say Redmayne is great in many of his scenes. He is charming when it comes to Clark's determination to get into the film business, as well as when it comes to his relationship with Emma Watson's character. Yet I feel that when Eddie Redmayne takes on the task of emphasizing the sheer admiration for figures like Sir Lawrence Olivier and also crucially his sheer love and obsession with Marilyn Monroe, I don't think it is as believable as it could be. It's difficult to put a finger on why, but I think it's either because he ramps it up slightly too high, so the chemistry becomes a tad too clichéd (which in a film as great and unique as this you don't really want) or in trying to be subtle, we see a lack of emotion from him, being slightly dead behind the eyes, and leaving one as an audience member dead in the water. These occurrences are rare, if noticeable (and in fairness I thought Kenneth Branagh was prone to this on occasion too, yet it did not damage his overall performance) and as I say the majority of Eddie Redmayne's screen time is just as warranted as that of the rest of the cast. And crucially, when you see Colin and Marilyn firmly together, it does seem to work, which is of course an integral part of the film

So as I say, My Week With Marilyn is a truly great film. All of it's components come together beautifully and 9 times out of 10 the effect is seamless, majestic, and uniquely perfect. I have no doubt that My Week With Marilyn is a truly remarkable true story fantastically told. I also have no doubt that it will go on to become a future classic, if it has not become so already.