Michelle Williams is so good as the title character in Simon Curtis‘ My Week with Marilyn that watching the film is like watching Some Like it Hot for the first time — or whichever film it was that made you fall in love with Marilyn Monroe at first sight. It’s like falling in love with the icon all over again, and at the end, you have to remind yourself that you were watching somebody else. It would be superb if this film — an absolute crowd-pleaser — makes a commercial splash, because Williams, so often appearing brilliantly in little-seen projects (Wendy and Lucy, Blue Valentine, Meek’s Cutoff), deserves a much bigger audience.
Based on a pair of Colin Clark memoirs, each piece of writing contributes to the film’s storyline. Clark is played in the film by Eddie Redmayne as a boyish, wide-eyed 23-year-old who dreams of working in the entertainment industry. His dream comes true, sort of, when he sets up camp at Sir Laurence Olivier’s (Kenneth Branagh, delightful) production offices and refuses to leave until he’s assigned a position.
Eventually, he’s pegged as a third assistant director for Olivier’s production of The Prince and the Showgirl. He forms a flirtation with Lucy (Emma Watson), a fellow member of the crew, that quickly dissolves in the face of Marilyn Monroe’s (Williams) arrival in London. Olivier hopes that the rapport between him and Marilyn will flow naturally, but the actress’ notoriously troubling on-set presence, coupled with the enduring process of Monroe’s method acting coach, Paula Strasberg (Zoë Wanamaker), makes the relationship between the two stars a trying one indeed.
In time, Colin comes to act as a type of mediator between the two — his coy adoration of Monroe, rather than the harsh-truth direction of Olivier, proves to be a more useful way to draw out the actress’ talents. And when she shines, she’s pure radiance. There are scenes of Colin and Olivier watching daily footage from the production, and when she hits the right notes, it’s as if they’ve been reverted back to a time of innocence, the kind of time during which you can stare at something and be blindly beguiled by it. When Olivier’s wife, Vivien Leigh (Julia Ormond), points this out to him, his stunted reaction says it all — for a moment, he was living in some magical realm, and her words brought him out of it.
If there is anything terribly wrong with the film, it’s that Colin’s character has very little dimension to him, which is ironic considering the author of the source material. He has one line in the film where he tells Marilyn what he thinks about the tension between her and Olivier, and that line is the truest glimpse we get of a distinct personality. For the most part, though, he simply comes off as blandly likeable. That is, however, especially understandable, since he is often in the company of the riveting portraits that are drawn by both Williams and Branagh.
There is a soft tone, as Curtis employs a generally comedic air throughout, but harping on that fact would be looking at the film in a misguided light, because as easy as it would be to judge the fluffy, throwback tone, it is even easier to just sit back and allow the film’s charm to suck you in. The story is about a man’s one-week connection with Marilyn Monroe and he chooses — unlike, say, Dominic Cooper‘s character in the film — to cherish that week for everything it is worth, and not dwell on the brevity of it. Colin is warned from multiple source to be wary of opening up his heart to Marilyn, and I’m sure each time he nods and accepts their advice he is smiling on the inside. Because it’s Marilyn Monroe, and the thought of passing up the chance to spend time with her is almost inhuman in its absurdity.
The film could have been a wreck without the correct Marilyn, and I’m not sure Williams could have done anything more with the role. After a string of unflattering indie dramas, she somehow manages to exude the quintessential appeal of one of the medium’s most decorated icons. And the film finds its engine through that coaxing characterization. You won’t want to leave her sight.
My Week with Marilyn is currently playing at the New York Film Festival and will be released domestically on November 4 by The Weinstein Company.