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 Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Dir. David Fincher (2008)


Benjamin Button will stand for years to come as a monumental achievement in technical wizardry. However, the film isn’t there to service the special effects; the effects are there to service the film. Director David Fincher, known for darker fare (Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac), has created a vivid storybook tale of love and mortality.

Brad Pitt plays the title character for much of the film, usually hidden behind a layer of make-up and CGI effects. He is born at the end of World War I in New Orleans, except he is born with all the ailments of an 80 year-old man. His skin is wrinkled, his limbs are arthritic, and his eyes are stricken with cataracts. The baby’s mother dies giving birth and the father, Thomas Button (Jason Flemyng), leaves the baby at the doorstep of a nursing home. There, he’s taken in by Queenie (Taraji P. Hanson), the caretaker who names the baby, Benjamin. He begins life as a lame-legged old man, fitting right in with other inhabitants. Soon, he meets the red-haired Daisy (Elle Fanning as a child, Cate Blanchett as an adult), the granddaughter of another tenant. For Benjamin, it’s love at first sight while Daisy senses a kindred soul underneath his elderly exterior.

Benjamin devours life with a youthful exuberance. He explores New Orleans with a newly-arrived pygmy and gets a job on a tugboat with Captain Mike (Jared Harris). At sea, Benjamin sees more of the world and visits his first brothel. He travels to Russia where he has an affair with Elizabeth Abbot (Tilda Swinton), the wife of a British diplomat. Returning to the States, his relationship with Daisy goes through its ups and downs. It isn’t until the two reunite in their middle age that their love affair can finally begin. But, love is fleeting when Benjamin realizes he’ll grow younger and younger.

The script was co-written by Robin Swicord and Eric Roth who took inspiration from a 24 page short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald to create a near three hour masterpiece. Roth previously won an Oscar for his adaptation of Forrest Gump and you can clearly see echoes of that in Benjamin Button. Both films star a passive protagonist moving through the 20th century and a love that is doomed by circumstances worldly and physical. However, Button manages to avoid distilling almost an entire century of history into a series of contrivances and empty Hallmark platitudes. While this works great, there are two glaring omissions. Though Benjamin is raised by an adoptive black mother, the issue of segregation in the south is never mentioned. Sprinkled throughout the film are scenes with an aged Daisy on her deathbed as her daughter (Julia Ormond) reads from Benjamin’s diary just before Hurricane Katrina strikes. It feels like a superfluous addition when the tragedy isn’t truly addressed.

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett give fine performances though not as strong as some of their other films. The romance between Benjamin and Daisy is at its strongest when they’re at their most miserable. It’s not nearly as interesting when they’re happy, frolicking in their sparsely furnished apartment as the Beatles play on The Ed Sullivan Show. The best performance belongs to Taraji P. Henson for her portrayal of Benjamin’s Butterfly McQueen-esque adoptive mother.

Rating: *** ½