review by Adam Cook Patron
My Week with Marilyn 2011
Reviewed Mar 15, 2012
Adam Cook’s review:
This is a film that seems entirely created for an American audience who like to see us Brits being oh so eccentrically British. It has that nauseating warm glow of a TV period drama and lays on the quaint charms of Britain with a trowel making it a syrupy and rather irritating experience. It may have an impressive cast of big name actors but they can’t save a film that is this frothy and bland. The real travesty about My Week with Marilyn though is that Michelle William’s brilliant performance is in this film and not in something more worthy of her talents. There have been many screen interpretations of Marilyn Monroe over the years and most are so wrapped up in the way she walks or her breathless voice that they end up being little more than caricatures. Williams however manages to capture the ticks and quirks but also seems to get to the heart of her as a person. Nobody is ever going to capture Marilyn’s indefinable magic and fragility but she comes incredibly close.
I wish there was more bite to this film delving deeper into her character without feeling like some Sunday evening television drama aimed at people too lazy to find the remote control.
@Adam-Eddie Redmayne spoils this for me. He just seems totally unbelievable in this. Why would Marilyn fancy him? And as for Michelle Williams I thought she was incredible. I still liked it a lot more than you,but I do have a soft spot for both Williams and Branagh.
@Andy: In truth I don't think I've been convinced by Redmayne is any film. I'm obviously missing something the big directors are seeing though.
Totally agree Adam. The appeal of this passed me by. It started off very promising but quickly fell into the usual beautiful oh so innocent woman beset by sneering British villainy and eccentricity. It's essentially little more than the sickening Princess Diana motif we've been fed for years or the Titanic notion of all Brits are bad guys and pose a threat to loves young dream. Little accusation is made towards the real demons of Monroe's life, the Hollywood machine that fed her pills to stave off her insecurities and desires and kept her a working zombie. Nor indeed was enough made of Monroe's own character faults.
@Adam-I'm with you,I just don't see the fascination with Redmayne. He doesn't come across well at all.
@Mark: I didn't see the British portrayal as negatively as yours, they were more stereotypically pompous rather than evil. It's just all so lightweight, and as you say, it never really explores Monroe's real demons.