Review - My Week with Marilyn

Whether she was an underrated actress perpetually struggling to break out of her shell or a glorified bimbo who just happened to land a career in Hollywood, there’s no denying Marilyn Monroe was a bona fide icon, a starlet destined to dazzle whoever caught a glimpse of her sumptuous figure, golden locks and cheeky little mole. In the case of My Week with Marilyn, many will enter the cinema wondering which version of Marilyn they will be seeing, the bimbo or the actress?

Director Simon Curtis makes the wise decision to explore both sides of his protagonist so that she never feels like a gross caricature. Based on the memoirs of Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), the film narrates the latter’s experience as an assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl, where he was lucky enough to embark on a fleeting relationship with Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams), much to the chagrin of her co-star Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) and the rest of the disgruntled crew.

Rather than going for the overfamiliar (and frankly quite tiring) rise and fall trajectory seen in countless Hollywood biopics, Adrian Hodges’ script opts for a more contained and intimate story that manages nonetheless to touch upon Marilyn’s quirks and demons. Despite her status as a movie star and sex symbol, a role she is often seen enjoying to some degree, Monroe spends most of the film crippled by self-doubt and in awe of her theatre trained colleagues, especially uber-thespian Olivier, who shows no mercy when it comes to undermining his naïve co-star. These are the scenes where the movie star disappears and instead we see Norma Jean, the scared little girl who is forced into playing the role of this fascinating woman the world expects her to be.

The fact that Michelle Williams makes a stunningly believable Marilyn just goes to show how far she has come since her days on the Creek. We know from her turns in Brokeback Mountain and Blue Valentine how well she can handle repression, but the fact that she convincingly pulls off Monroe’s slinky mannerisms as well is a personal triumph for the rising star. In the film’s standout moment, after spending an afternoon touring Windsor Castle with Colin in childlike wonder, Marilyn is confronted by a group of fans. “Shall I be her?” she tentatively asks her young beau, before impeccably slipping into her on-screen persona and striking a series of her iconic poses for the cheering crowd.

The inevitable downside of having such a talented actress playing a legendary figure means that the rest of the cast barely registers on the radar. The possible exception may well be Branagh’s cantankerous Olivier, but Eddie Redmayne, Dominic Cooper, a post-Potter Emma Watson and even Judi Dench cannot compete with Williams on fine, Oscar-baiting form.

The end result is a film that is small in scope and made worthwhile purely thanks to the charms and efforts of its leading lady. Expect nominations galore for Williams, but My Week with Marilyn is unlikely to register in Best Film polls.

3/5