Within in the past 70 years of American history there has been arguably no one more recognizable and beloved than Marilyn Monroe. Just typing her name beholds a certain amount of mystique and beauty that many clung to throughout her lifetime.

But, Simon Curtis’ My Week With Marilyn is not all about Ms. Monroe – rather a young man named Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) who strongly desires to work production on a film. His breakthrough comes when actor/director Sir Laurence Olivier (played by Kenneth Branagh) offers him a job as the third assistant director on his newest picture, The Prince and the Showgirl.

Adapted from the book Clark would later go onto write- The Prince, The Showgirl, and Me – the film excellently lays out the period and the constant pressure Monroe was under. However, the story – at its core – is about Colin and Marilyn, and how they fall in and out of love. He lusts after her – with kindness and modesty – she willingly – albeit her husband, a Mr. Arthur Miller – engages in flirtation and ultimately an untimely romantic relationship.

For those who know very little of Ms. Monroe (like myself) My Week With Marilyn delivers a quite, subtle, and sometimes powerful snapshot of a perplexed woman. The persona of Marilyn – that is sexy, charismatic, and irresistible – is perhaps far off from her genuine personality. She’s frantic, indecisive, and heavily dependent on others.

Her acting habits are pitiful and in any other circumstance, wouldn’t be tolerated on a film set. She shows up three hours late for rehearsal, forgets lines, and constantly disregards her peers. Why? Because she’s Marilyn Monroe and throughout her career she’s been told that she’s the “greatest actress to ever live” and that she can take as much time as she wants. But you see, that was acceptable in late 40s, all through the 50s, and up till the early 60s.

Monroe was the sex symbol of the world – a woman who possessed no limitations – and was put on a pedestal not even a God could withstand. My Week With Marilyn encapsulates her shortcomings, but also, her relentless, inadvertent beauty. She may have not been the great actress everyone lauded her as, but she was a great entertainer.

When one watches Marilyn it’s like a Greek Goddess has appeared on screen in human form. It isn’t hard to imagine why Colin – amongst every other heterosexual male at the time – was in lust with her.

As I’ve spoken about Marilyn, one could easily obtain the perception that she actually stars in the film. I’ve done so because Michelle Williams (who played counter to Ryan Gosling in last years brilliant Blue Valentine) immerses herself as with such ease and charm, that you nearly instantaneously forget it’s an actress just playing another role.

Marilyn (Williams) and Colin (Redmayne) sharing a moment of touching intimacy in "My Week With Marilyn"

This accolade can speak for the whole British cast. Kenneth Branagh as Sir Lawrence Olivier, a filmmaker who hopes the picture will return some ounce of youthfulness to his life – Judy Dench as a veteran actress who only speaks to deliver sage advice to her counterparts – Emma Watson (yes Herminie from Harry Potter) as an attractive 20 something who Colin dates, all attribute to My Week With Marilyn’s authentic and tense atmosphere.

Aesthetically pleasing as it may be, the intimacy between Clark and Monroe is sporadic in terms of its affect. Sometimes charming, sometimes annoying, and more often than not moments between the two grate. Even though competent actors play the characters, the believability of their romance is slim. Also while watching the charade of feelings and emotions that Marilyn displays is fascinating, it gets tiresome watching her soak in her own self pity and faults. It’s certainly necessary to show Monroe as a flawed and humane person, but its done and delivered far more times than it has to be.

Though, in a coincidental, perhaps even cheeky sort of fashion, by the end of My Week With Marilyn you sort of accept – like Monroe herself – the idiosyncrasies and inconsistencies, and just become washed away by the beauty of it all. The film is spectacular to look at – an utter delight – a tour-de-force of cinematography by Ben Smithard.

Sure the clichéd story drags, but the actors control the screen. Williams and Redmayne are exquisite and worth attention. Take the film for what it is: a rapturous and touching little tale of an audacious 23 year old man who got the opportunity to see filmmaking for what it is, art in all its profound glory, and to spend time with the woman dreams made of, Marilyn Monroe.

Rating:

My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Cast: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh

Director: Simon Curtis

Writer: Colin Clark, Adrian Hodges

Runtime: 99 minutes

Genre: drama, biography

Trailer My Week with Marilyn

by CinemaRx