Review of My Week with Marilyn.
Michelle Williams transforms herself into the blonde bombshell in My Week with Marilyn
The Michelle Williams known to moviegoers who seek out independent fare is steely and strong thanks to performances like the unexpected leader on an Oregon Trail wagon train in the period western Meek's Cutoff; an emergency room surgeon with a troubled marriage in Lukas Moodysson's first English-language film Mammoth and a young wife who falls out of love with her working class husband (Ryan Gosling) in director Derek Cianfrance's marriage-in-trouble drama Blue Valentine.
It's unfortunate that Williams isn't better known outside the indie film world or more celebrated considering her Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain and last year's Best Actress Oscar nomination for Blue Valentine.
In a surprising twist of fate, the mainstream spotlight and roaring critical acclaim is falling upon Williams for her most light-hearted movie role in years, director Simon Curtis' sugary showbiz romance My Week with Marilyn.
Williams pushes aside steeliness for self-doubt and romantic longing; playing the legendary Marilyn Monroe as the world's most famous woman who simply wants to be accepted as a serious actress instead of a blonde bombshell.
Marilyn remains one of Hollywood's most fascinating stars but Curtis and screenwriter Adrian Hodges sidestep Monroe's sexual careerism in Hollywood, her need/hate relationship with her sex symbol persona and her struggle for self-respect for sweet nostalgia of 1956 London, a young man's passion for the movies as well as his inevitable heartbreak when one's first love happens to be with one of Hollywood's most famous stars.
Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) is a 23-year-old British blue blood straight out of Eton but he's willing to slum as a gofer for Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) during the shoot of The Prince and the Showgirl just for experience in the movie industry.
One of Clark's jobs is keeping an eye on Olivier's co-star Monroe and helping her get to Pinewood Studios on time. The way Clark describes the production in his books "My Week with Marilyn and The Prince, The Showgirl and Me: Six Months on the Set with Marilyn and Olivier," Monroe fell in love with him by the end of the troubled shoot and they enjoyed a romantic week together before the movie wrapped and she returned to America and her then-husband Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott).
Clark's diaries may very well be an exaggerated of The Prince and the Showgirl and his time with Monroe but it makes for a lovely movie diversion just the same.
Curtis makes great use of his standout ensemble including Judi Dench as actress Sybil Thorndike, Julia Ormond as Olivier's actress/wife Vivien Leigh, Zoë Wanamaker as Monroe's acting coach Paula Strasberg, Dougray Scott as Miller and Toby Jones as Monroe's manager Arthur Jacobs.
Branagh shows plenty of comic flair as a fed-up Olivier struggling to cope with Monroe's constant tardiness and poor performance.
Of course, they all revolve around Williams who captures Monroe's voice, her hourglass figure and wide-eyed facial expressions and transforms them into a celebratory performance that keeps Clark's nostalgia tale afloat.
Williams has always been pretty with her blonde bangs and toothy smile but it's fun to watch her embrace the voluptuous figure of Monroe and emphasize the sexy image made famous as Lorelei Lee in Gentleman Prefer Blondes and Sugar in Some Like It Hot instead of the troubled life of Norma Jean Baker.
The slight downside to Williams' performance is that she completely overwhelms Eddie Redmayne as the star-struck Colin, who fades into cellophane in just about every scene.
Still, Williams is bright and bubbly enough to make My Week with Marilyn an enjoyable comic tale about celebrity worship and love for movies.
It's a tour de force performance in that she successfully tackles the legend of Monroe and in the process lifts a sweet movie comedy on her petite shoulders.
From now on, whenever Williams appears on-screen, there's bound to be excitement and anticipation - and she deserves that.
Distributor: The Weinstein Company
Director: Simon Curtis
Scriptwriter: Adrian Hodges
Cinematographer: Ben Smithard
Cast: Michelle Williams, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Dominic Cooper, Dougray Scott, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Watson, Kenneth Branagh, Julia Ormond, Toby Jones and Zoe Wanamaker
Editor: Adam Recht
Production Designer: Donal Woods
Composer: Conrad Pope
Running Time: 99 minutes
Producers: The Weinstein Company, BBC Films, Trademark Films, Lipsync Productions
Rating: Rated R