We saw this film yesterday. To give a brief background of the story and film, here is the Wikipedia info on what is supposedly a true story:
“My Week with Marilyn is a British drama film directed by Simon Curtis and written by Adrian Hodges. It stars Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Dougray Scott, Judi Dench and Emma Watson. Based on two books by Colin Clark, it depicts the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl, which starred Marilyn Monroe (Williams) and Laurence Olivier (Branagh). The film focuses on the week in which Monroe spent time being escorted around Britain by Clark (Redmayne), after her husband, Arthur Miller (Scott), left the country.”
We thought the film was excellent, and I believe Michelle Williams has a good shot at winning the Best Actress Oscar this year. She was perfect as Marilyn, and from the first scene to the last, you could actually believe you were watching Marilyn Monroe.
Kenneth Branagh took a couple of minutes to get used to as Laurence Olivier, but again - by the end of the film, he seemed to have captured that role as well.
Judi Dench was, as always, great in the film and even Emma Watson shook off her Harry Potter film persona and did a short, but great stint as the other love interest.
The film showed all of the nuances and disasters and problems with filming a large production with a difficult star. Having met lots of celebrities while working in LA, I have been able to know many (though nowhere near as intimately as depicted in this film) and can relate to seeing the “other side” of celebrity as Colin did in this film.
It was basically a sweet film - no great wrenching drama. Michelle Williams role as Marilyn is alone worth the price of admission and I will be truly shocked if she doesn’t at least get that Oscar nomination, and wouldn’t be surprised if she wins - she was that good!
You do not necessarily need to rush off to see this on the big screen, but I heartily recommend seeing it on DVD or cable when you have the chance.