My Week with Marilyn
January 30, 2012
4 stars out of 5
Because of the Oscar nomination, we to see My Week with Marilyn. We're glad we did, and bet you will be too. Neal Vitale gave it 4.5 stars here in his year-end roundup. There's not a gnat's crochet of difference in our feelings about the film. The IMDB summary: "Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier's, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during production of The Prince and the Showgirl."
The movie is based on Clark's memoir of the most exciting job of his life, turned into a screenplay by Adrian Hodges and director Simon Curtis. It's just so darned cute.. Michelle Williams is no Meryl Streep, but she does doe a pretty good Marilyn Monroe. Eddie Redmayne is sweet and wholesome as Clark, and Kenney Branagh brings Laurence Olivier back from the dead. There's some remarkable makeup done to create a physical resemblance. In fact, we rented The Prince and the Showgirl when we got home, which renders the performances even spookier. Looking at them side by side is enlightening, if you can stand the garish over-saturated 50s colors and the hammy acting. A Showgirl made with Willians and Branagh would be a much better movie.