My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Marilyn Monroe was one of the great puzzles of the movies. She was a star who came just short of actually being any good, yet everything she did seemed like magic. A Marilyn Monroe movie also had to be an editing masterpiece, as fishing the good things she did out of all the bad things was surely a great challenge. This film concerns one particular movie Monroe was making directed by Laurence Olivier, and it covers all the legends surrounding the creation of a Monroe movie. Her timidity is given as a big reason for her lack of skill in handling the weight of a studio production. Olivier cannot stand her. It is said here that she cannot survive alone and she often fell back on anyone she could reach. In this instance, it is a young man named Colin who is brand new to the business, and who falls quite in love with Marilyn before she leaves him like everyone else.

I have seen plenty of Marilyn Monroe movies, and I have always marveled at the way she was able to arrest the viewer's attention without doing much that would seem to deserve it. Every fan of classic movies has heard the horror stories surrounding her productions and it is fascinating to see them come alive here. Unlike Olivier in the film, who is played brilliantly by Kenneth Branaugh, I felt rather bad for her instead of frustrated with her simple-mindedness. I am sure that was the intention. There is a common misconception that Marilyn Monroe was a sex symbol. It is partially true, I suppose, because she was the ideal Hollywood female of an entire generation, but any sensuality she possessed was lost on her. This movie could have easily overplayed that aspect, or turned it into some sort of sex romp. It doesn't, which is one of its great strengths. This is about a friendship, not a romance, with the most passionate moment being a quick kiss at the end. It is genuinely heart-warming and also very interesting. Michelle Williams deserves enormous amounts of praise for her imitation of Monroe, which very nearly reaches perfection in bringing a beloved icon back to life. It was almost like watching a ghost, or, more accurately, the memory of a ghost. This may not be what Monroe was actually like, but it is how we remember her.

Anyone who loves Old Hollywood will love this movie. It has a peculiar innocence and nostalgia to it, sparking a new respect for not only the "performances" given by one of the industry's great stars, but also for the people who endured her peculiarities to get those performances. Marilyn Monroe was not a great actress, but she was an enormous public figure, the likes of which, I think, cannot be reached again. I loved that this movie was not full of conspiracy theories or fictional scandalous accounts, but had an actual interest and love for its subject. I suspect a lot of people will bypass this movie, fearing it to be too old-fashioned. After all, though most people know the name and image of Marilyn Monroe, they have never seen her in action. This movie is for the people who would thrill at its old-fashioned senses, and who will realize how exceptional Williams' acting is. In the same way the hero does in this film, there are many people who have fondly remembered the experience it was to watch this woman on the screen, a great experience this film inspires all over again.

10/10