More Oscar-nominated/award winning films were released on DVD and Blu-Ray today: The Descendants, Melancholia, Young Adult and My Week With Marilyn, to name a few.
During its run in the theater, My Week With Marilyn had me interested, but not enough to go see it in the theater. I gave in and watched it today. The film is based off Colin Clark's (arguably) true account of his encounter with Marilyn Monroe during her time in England filming The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier. It's a visually stunning film, to be sure, and each actor rises to the occasion of portraying such enigmatic roles. However, the story, told mostly through Colin's eyes, has trouble keeping all of the characters into the fold. I found some characters having a very strong presence in the beginning, but slowly fading away as the story moved on and Colin developed a stronger relationship with Marilyn. This is completely fine, but with such recognizable actors as Julia Ormond (as fading star Vivien Leigh) and Toby Jones (publicist Arthur Jacobs), I was kind of shocked they disappeared and somewhat disappointed, more-so with Vivien's storyline/set up. Both Vivien and Marilyn share a fear of being alone or abandoned and I found that very interesting in actresses that were so loved during their time in the spotlight. I wanted that to be explored more with both actresses.
I'm not sure how Michelle Williams was nominated for lead acting awards, because this is clearly a supporting role, but I guess that's politics for you. That, and she does such an excellent job of losing herself in Marilyn, showing a fragile side that not many people were fully accustomed to during Monroe's lifetime, that she definitely deserves props. It's also refreshing to show Monroe having a playful side instead of constantly being in a depressive disposition that so many people appear to obsess over and analyze in numerous documentaries.
Regardless, Colin is the lead and actor Freddie Redmayne does an excellent job of portraying the young man. Saddled with the challenge of playing a man with little experience in the world, Redmayne does a good job walking the fine line of not coming off completely ignorant to Marilyn's game while also appearing believable and understandable when he falls for her and cares so deeply about her feelings.
I have to say, the most enduring character could possibly be Kenneth Branagh, who steals the show in a role (Olivier) I'm sure he has dreamed of playing for a very long time. His candor (acknowledging fear of his time being almost up in the acting world) with Colin while applying makeup to darken his eyebrows (for the film) was particularly moving. Judi Dench also provides a refreshing performance as the tender Sybil Thorndike.
Overall, the film may have introduced some characters that disappeared into oblivion, but the heart of the story remains: a young man comes of age by falling for and developing a complex and caring relationship with Marilyn Monroe. It's an interesting peek into the past (real or not) and has a bittersweet ending, as Colin goes on to work in film and Marilyn, well... you know the rest of the story.... In short, if you are a Marilyn fan or a bio-pic fan, check it out.
