My Week With Marilyn
Directed By: Simon
Curtis
Written By: Adrian
Hodges, based on the books My Week with
Marilyn and The Prince, the Showgirl
and Me by Colin Clark
Starring: Michelle
Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Ormond, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Watson, Judi
Dench, Toby Jones, Dougray Scott, Dominic Cooper, Zoe Wanamaker, and Derek
Jacobi.
Director of Photography: Ben Smithard, Editor: Adam Recht,
Production Designer: Donal Woods, Original Music: Conrad Pope
Rated: R for some
naughty language and business, but that’s why you love Marilyn, isn’t it?
My
Week With Marilyn, a messy comedy of sorts that’s more enamored at its star
than it needs to be, opens with a recreation of a song and dance number from There’s No Business Like Show Business.
There’s Marilyn Monroe, all jazzed up, singing “Heat Wave.” We then break out
of the film and into the theater, where we follow the young face of Colin
Clark. He looks up in awe in the way that plebeians love to glorify stars, and
if you don’t understand his love,
then you can’t understand Ms. Monroe.
That’s not to put down a star that made splashes whether on screen or off,
becoming one of the most recognizable names and faces of her era. Like Richard
Linklater’s Me and Orson Welles, My Week With Marilyn attempts to view a
giant through the eyes of a small man who can only see the genius. The
similarities end there, despite a tonal disposition to direct everything with a
light foot and a skip through the wind. Some of this comes from issues with the
script by Adrian Hodges, based on a pair of memoirs by Mr. Clark (yes two whole
memoirs for one summer with a star!) and director Simon Curtis, who isn’t
exactly sure how to handle the more serious moments. But much of the issue is
the perspective of the film itself, which throws the titan on such a pedestal
of genius that its attempts at more human moments of the star feel more crass
than authentic.
