My Week With Marilyn

For my first movie review, I will be reviewing a recent cinematic masterpiece which I immediately fell in love with.... My Week With Marilyn.

Director: Simon Curtis

Producers: David Parfitt, Harvey Weinstein

Writer: Adrian Hodges

Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe

Eddie Redmayne as Colin Clark

Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier

Let me just begin by saying that Michelle Williams was superb... stunning!!! All throughout the movie I kept visualising Marilyn and Michelle head the nail on the head, She embodied Marilyn, she WAS Marilyn. It was almost as though her spirit possessed Williams throughout the shooting process. In my opinion.... Miss Williams was robbed of that oscar....

My Week with Marilyn chronicles the events told in the books "The Prince, The Showgirl and Me" and "My Week With Marilyn" written by Colin Clark. Set in the early summer of 1956, during the filming of "The Prince and the Showgirl" which was originally titled "The Sleeping Prince". Clark is working as a 3rd assistant director underneath Laurence Olivier, who becomes regularly frustrated with Marilyn's lack of punctuality and inability to remember lines and complete scenes when requested. Clark eclipses Monroe with the wonder and frivolity of England while her husband, Arthur Miller, is away. While the film is anchored around Monroe, the narrator is 23 year old Clark. It's very interesting to see Marilyn's life through the eyes of another, and leaves you with your own inner debate as to what she was really like... was she a master manipulator or simply a lost little girl? The film lets you decide for yourself.

The acting is brilliant from all parties, in particular Williams and Branagh. As I am such a huge fan of Monroe, I was very eager to see this film and I was a little worried I would be disappointed. Emma Watson makes a small appearance as Clarks original love interest.... which I do admit was a little lost on me, there seemed no real point to that storyline, more depth was needed, more time developing the friction.

Nevertheless, My Week with Marilyn was a brilliantly written film with everything that makes a great film great. It's a real shame that Williams and Branagh didn't win the Oscars they were nominated for, lord knows they deserve them.