My Week with Marilyn Is based on the memoir The Prince, the Showgirl, and Me, written by the then 23 year old Colin Clark. The film shows Colin’s determination to prove to his family and himself that he can do something on his own. With this in mind, he goes to the famous actor/director Laurence Olivier’s office after hearing he is working on a new film with the most famous woman in the world, Marilyn Monroe. Olivier is unable to give Colin a job right away, because Marilyn won’t sign onto the picture right away, an event that foreshadows the rest of the issues that Monroe and Olivier will have during the production. Eventually Marilyn signs on, and Colin is given the job of 3rd assistant director.
At this point in her life, Marilyn has just wed for the third time to writer Arthur Miller, and Olivier is married to actress Vivien Leigh. Leigh is convinced that her husband will fall hard for Marilyn, and asks Colin to keep an eye on him, which he promises to do. Once production begins though, it’s evident that there is no sign of Olivier falling for America’s sex-symbol. He is consistently frustrated with his star, for good reason; she is always late, forgets her lines, and she has an acting method/coach he doesn’t agree with.
What most of the cast and crew don’t realize is that Marilyn is battling many inner demons during production. She is nervous to be a part of this cast, full of such experienced acting veterans, and she is struggling with being such a spectacle to the public eye. To help deal with these issues, she takes multiple pills to calm herself, wake herself, and to put herself to sleep at night. She also relies on her new husband, but about halfway through the movie, Arthur Miller has a conversation where he admits that he can’t handle Marilyn’s issues on top of his own, and leaves her on set by herself. This is where Marilyn and Colin’s relationship starts to blossom into something that could be beautiful.
Michelle Williams couldn’t have been any better as her role as Marilyn. She brought to life the fun and rebellious side of Marilyn, but also the not so commonly seen vulnerable, nervous, paranoid side of her. Williams has come quite a long way since her days on Dawson’s Creek, and if she hadn’t been up against Meryl AND Viola Davis this year, she would’ve won the Oscar. It was such an emotional performance that not just anyone could pull off.
The overall cast was wonderful, filled with many familiar faces: Kenneth Branagh as Olivier, Eddie Redmayne as Colin, Emma Watson as Lucy (a costume assistant), Julia Ormond as Vivien Leigh, and many more talented cast members.
With director Simon Curtis, costume designer Jill Taylor, and music by Conrad Pope and Alexandre Desplat, My Week with Marilyn is a wonderful film that shows the insecure side of the Hollywood legend.
