My Week with Marilyn

My Week with Marilyn - Dir. Simon Curtis (2011)

A lot of people have worked lousy day jobs as they attempt to break into the movie business. For young Colin Clark, he hit the jackpot right out of college. He landed a position on the 1957 film, The Prince and the Showgirl, which starred Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. Sure, he was only the third assistant director, which essentially made him a gopher, but he was involved on a picture with two of the biggest movie stars of all time. The Prince and the Showgirl wound up being a forgettable romantic comedy. It's certainly not as fondly remembered as Olivier's Shakespearean adaptations or Monroe's Some Like It Hot or Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The fascination with the film lies with the backstage drama, which was chronicled by Clark in his books, The Prince, the Showgirl and Me and My Week with Marilyn.

The British press was abuzz over the arrival of Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) on her first trip to England. The blonde bombshell was set to star opposite Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) in his production of The Prince and the Showgirl. But, what should have been a breezy little romp became a turbulent shoot as Monroe frequently showed up late to the set, flubbed her lines, clashed with the temperamental Olivier, and relied heavily on booze and pills. It didn't help that her recent marriage to playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott) was already on the rocks. Monroe was also surrounded by an entourage that included publicist Arthur Jacobs (Toby Jones), business partner Milton H. Greene (Dominic Cooper), and acting coach Paula Strasberg (Zoe Wanamaker) whose advice constantly undermined Olivier's directions. It was difficult to tell who really cared about her and who was just riding the money train.

Out of all this turmoil, Monroe found a friend in Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne). She confided in him about her broken marriage and the pressures of living up to the larger than life persona of Marilyn Monroe.

My Week with Marilyn suffers the stigma of being based on true events or at least events that were purported to be true. Not to question the integrity of the real Colin Clark, but it is hard to swallow that a glorified production assistant would engage in a brief love affair with Marilyn Monroe. While the script by Adrian Hodges likely took its own liberties, the whole story comes off as pure fan fiction, no deeper than the forgotten Jason Priestley vehicle, Calendar Girl.

It also doesn't help that the character of Colin Clark is the least interesting person in the film. As a result, the relationship between he and Monroe feels phony and forced, especially when there are so many more intriguing dynamics to explore. There was the stormy relationship between Monroe and Olivier, Monroe's dependence on method acting and the Strasbergs, and Monroe's unlikely union with Arthur Miller would have been better material for a feature. The brief scenes with Michelle Williams and Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike are a hint at what could have been an even better film.

Michelle Williams earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal as Marilyn Mornoe and she is the highlight of the film. Though Williams doesn't share much of a resemblance to the famed actress, she does give a nuanced performance that goes beyond a mere impersonation. Kenneth Branagh also received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his turn as Olivier. Branagh has been compared to Olivier many times so it's a treat to see him play the man on screen. Julia Ormond didn't receive as many notices as her co-stars, but she gives one of the best performances in the film as Olivier's wife, Vivien Leigh. A renowned actress in her own right, Leigh played the showgirl on stage, but was pushed aside due to her age. There just wasn't enough of her or of "Harry Potter" star Emma Watson as a wardrobe girl romanced by Clark.

My Week with Marilyn doesn't have anything new or unique to say about the mythos of Marilyn Monroe. Instead, its blatant Oscar grab meant to replicate the respectability and success of The King's Speech. While Michelle Williams gives a strong performance, she alone isn't enough to earn My Week with Marilyn a recommendation.

Rating: ** (*****)

The King's Speech

The King's Speech - Dir. Tom Hooper (2010)

Now that it is awards season, all the major studios are rolling out their prestige pictures in order to keep them fresh in the minds of the voters. The King's Speech is exactly the type of movie that the Academy and other committees eat up with a spoon. It's based on an inspirational true story and features an all-star ensemble of British thespians.

Colin Firth is once again called upon to play the stiff Englishman as he steps into the role of Prince Albert, who suffered from a life-long stammering problem. This probably wouldn't have been such a big deal in the olden days when royalty was only called upon to wave and smile at the adoring masses, but a newfangled invention called radio now requires them to be eloquent and articulate. Poor Albert can barely get the words to sputter out of his mouth when addressing a crowd at Wembley Stadium. It isn't just public speaking that gives him problems, Albert even struggles with telling bedtime stories to his daughters Margaret and Elizabeth II (the current queen).

Albert's wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) supports him through thick and thin, bringing a parade of therapists through Buckingham Palace. After a disastrous session where Albert is forced to literally speak with marbles in his mouth, he begs Elizabeth to stop. However, she gives it one more go by turning to Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), a failed actor from Australia with no real credentials as a therapist. Logue's eccentric methods exasperate the prim and proper Prince, who Logue insists on calling 'Bertie.' Logue doesn't bother with honorifics, wants to be treated as an equal, and probes Bertie about his personal life. At one point, Logue refers to some of Bertie's ancestors as a bunch of "royal assholes." Stuffed shirt that he is, Bertie takes offense and storms off more than once, but circumstances necessitate their uneasy relationship. When the King (Michael Gambon) dies, the throne is passed on to older brother David (Guy Pearce), who is crowned King Edward VIII. His scandalous affair with an American divorcee leads Edward to abdicate and Bertie is now King George VI. Meanwhile, Hitler prepares to plunge England into World War II and the new King is called upon to deliver an inspiring speech.

Screenwriter David Seidler (who suffered from stuttering) originally envisioned The King's Speech as a play with the potential for a feature film version. It's easy to see why the movie took precedence and attracted the attentions of such a high caliber cast. The script is basic, old-fashioned storytelling at its best, hitting all the right notes without a single superfluous scene. Seidler manages to inject an understated level of humor to the proceedings, which prevents the film from becoming too much of a starchy BBC-style production. The relationship between Bertie and Logue provides the backbone as a reverse Pygmalion with the middle class instructor teaching the posh student. In real life, the two became close friends for years.

Tom Hooper (The Damned United, HBO's John Adams) directs with a straightforward manner though some of his compositions aren't the most aesthetically pleasing. Still, he does a splendid job in contrasting the ornate trappings of the Palace with Logue's modest flat and basement office. The acting is uniformly excellent, particularly Helena Bonham Carter as the future Queen Mother and Guy Pearce as the irresponsible playboy brother. The only weak link in the cast is Timothy Spall's Winston Churchill, who comes off more as a comic relief caricature than an actual person.

Rating: *** (*****)

Hereafter

Hereafter - Dir. Clint Eastwood (2010)

At the age of 80, Clint Eastwood hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. He may have retired from acting, but his output as director remains prolific. Whenever awards season rolls around, you know a new Eastwood picture will be released. His films have been in varied genres, whether they be crime thrillers (Mystic River), war movies (Flags of Our Fathers, Letters to Iwo Jima), or sports dramas (Million Dollar Baby, Invictus). His next project will be a biopic about J. Edgar Hoover with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead.

Eastwood ventures slightly out of his comfort zone with Hereafter, a trio of stories centered on death and the afterlife. Eastwood is joined by Peter Morgan, a screenwriter known more for politically charged films like The Last King of Scotland, The Queen, and Frost/Nixon. Morgan was apparently inspired to write the script following the death of a close friend.

Hereafter begins with the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. French television personality Marie LeLay (Cecile De France) is vacationing in Thailand with her producer/boyfriend (Thierry Neuvic) when the tidal wave hits. She is swept away and nearly killed by a careening automobile. Marie is barely revived, but not before having ethereal visions of white light and ghostly figures. From then on, she has trouble reconnecting with her normal life. She attempts to take time off by writing a book on former French president Francois Mitterrand. Instead, she winds up researching a new book on the afterlife. Her newfound fascination alienates her from her boyfriend and colleagues.

George Lonegan (Matt Damon) was once a psychic of some renown with the legitimate ability to speak with the dead. Imagine him as the kid from The Sixth Sense all grown up. George has retreated from the spotlight, making a modest living as a forklift operator in San Francisco. His brother, Billy (Jay Mohr), keeps trying to convince George that they can both make a lot more money by exploiting his powers. George disagrees, believing them to be a curse, rather than a gift. We see just how these psychic talents interfere with his life when he is introduced to Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard) at a cooking class. It's a meet cute straight out of the romantic comedy playbook, but the budding relationship doesn't get the chance for a happy ending.

The third storyline is set in London and follows twin brothers Marcus and Jason (Frankie & George McLaren who alternate roles). Marcus depends on the wiser and more mature Jason, who is twelve minutes older, to take care of him and their heroin-addicted mother. When Jason is killed in a tragic car accident, Marcus is placed in foster care and struggles to go on with his life

Eastwood excels at making these types of prestige pictures. He has an old-fashioned sense of storytelling. He is content to give his characters room to breathe and never resorts to superfluous camera tricks. Hereafter marks the first time Eastwood has used extensive special effects. The opening tsunami sequence is a remarkable achievement in CGI that is shot in a very intimate manner. Eastwood shoots this massive natural disaster at a human level by focusing on Marie as she is battered and thrashed about. Eastwood is more concerned about capturing the harrowing emotions of the event rather than creating widespread destruction, a lesson that Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich could learn.

The rest of the film doesn't quite live up to the promise of the start. Cecile De France is wonderful and I admit to having a crush on her since High Tension (just something about a French girl wielding a chainsaw). However, her storyline remains the weakest of the three. The scenes dealing with her disconnect are mundane and fail to convey the existential turmoil she faces. Damon appears in the strongest storyline and he gives a powerful, yet understated, performance. Unlike films such as Babel and Crash, Hereafter doesn't unite its characters through tenuous strands or contrive to intersect its various plots. The storylines run parallel and only converge in the final act. The resolution remains unsatisfying and the convergence of plot threads feels more like an obligation rather than a germane end to the journey. Eastwood is known for his preference to shoot the script's first draft, choosing not to tweak the writer's words. Perhaps, that's exactly what Hereafter needed.

In the end, Eastwood has created a film about metaphysical subject matter that is grounded in a down-to-earth reality. The performances of the cast are good enough to overcome the meandering plots and the occasional bluntness of Eastwood's direction.

Rating: **