Movie review: To love the blonde in 'My Week With Marilyn' 

I have always been of two minds about historical films. 

 

The necessary revisionism of facts for dramatic purposes for film adaptations and the tendency for the viewing public out of a willingness to be guiled or just simple ennui to take it as narrative gospel of “what really happened back then” makes me wary. Historical biopics double the gamble; see the prone to Titanic-style listing, Howard Hughes movie “The Aviator” or, even more recently, “The Social Network.” Never mind that the former was a Scorsese film. 

 

So, seeing “My Week With Marilyn,” I was surprised to find that myth, fact and the kind of fantastique wishful thinking that accrue around such legends like Marilyn are perfectly balanced in their tensions, like three devils trying to fit into a narrow door all at once and none getting through. 

 

Having previously read Joyce Carol Oates’ wonderfully scathing and tongue in cheek, fictionalized “Blonde,” along with a few “official” biographies, I was able to gain a leg up on the film’s narrative tactic. This movie is based on the similarly titled book by Colin Clark, which itself was a follow-up release of his diary account “The Prince, the Showgirl and Me,” published 40 years ago. I plan to add that to my reading list.   

 

Britain as starting point

 

We open in Britain, with the well to do (they live in a castle), born of fringe British royalty, and educated Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne). He loves the “pictures” and is determined to make his way into the industry. Because of his family’s stature, he recently met Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) at a party, who mentioned that there might be a position open in his upcoming production. 

 

What does Clark do? He hangs around the studio offices until he lands a job as the third assistant director. So this is how, in the summer of 1956, the 23-year-old Clark found himself just down from Oxford and on the set of “The Prince and the Showgirl.”

 

The star from overseas, Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams), arrives with much fanfare accompanied by her new husband, the playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott). Just a few weeks into her third marriage, the couple are on their “working honeymoon.” 

 

As the filming progresses, Arthur Miller leaves England to go back Stateside to see his children. Leaving Marilyn a pill-popping mess, Clark is assigned by Olivier to look after the well-being of their super-sensitive star. Clark introduces Marilyn to the pleasures of British life even as he, inevitably, falls in love with her. She takes a great liking to the young man and makes him spend an idyllic week as her escort.  

 

At once a coming of age, a look inside a movie production set, and the agony and ecstasy of celebrity, the film depicts Marilyn as both dream and nightmare. Even her husband flees to escape her might and the gargantuan amount of attention she requires on a daily basis. Meanwhile, Marilyn is desperate to get away from her entourage of Hollywood hangers-on and the pressures of work.

  

All about education

 

This adaptation is all about education. That it is also about heartbreak and loss in spectacular fashion is incidental. That it revolves around Marilyn is a gold mine. Through Clark’s hopelessly love struck eyes we see the Big Blonde as the sweet, vulnerable, cunning and self-aware creature she is. “She picks you up. She puts you down. It’s what she does!” exclaims Milton H. Greene (Dominic Cooper) to Clark. 

 

Thing is, you can tell Clark doesn’t care. What do you do when a celebrity of such stature pulls you into their orbit? Nothing. Nothing at all. In this film such willing helplessness is both its strength and undoing. We must thank screenwriter Adrian Hodges for how deft it’s done in his script. 

 

People will laugh and scoff at Marilyn’s eccentricities and the push-pull of Norma Jean Baker’s craving for love and her abhorrence of its pitfalls. There is no doubt she’s a vulnerable, super-sensitive girl who relied heavily on her acting talents more than anything else. 

 

Many times, Olivier deplores her lack of discipline (she regularly shows up hours late) and her indifference (she walks out if she doesn’t get her way or doesn’t show up at all) as a besmirching of the actor’s trade. He does admit, toward the end of his production in hell, that he has grudging respect for Marilyn; how she’s taken everything Hollywood has thrown at her and still stand strong. But his comment does conjure interesting queries: having entered acting without much thespian education, does Marilyn fear training for the kind of exposure it will bring to her, when it comes down to it, paltry though intense gifts? Or because she fears a scouring of that self same talent? 

 

Her acting coach (the sycophantic and opportunistic teacher of “the method” Paula Strasberg) and road manager are the best manifestations of this. She uses them as crutch, safeguard, interference and security blanket. In turn they indulge, protect and adore her. They’re like infant pacifiers in human form.  

 

Aside from Redmayne, the gem here is Michelle Williams’ performance. It’s subtle, varied, and as multi-layered as the icon she portrays. Never mind that they didn’t get her rack to just the right size. To say that Williams shines brightly is like saying the Northern Lights have a rainbow of colors at its disposal. It is an incredible leap of insight that the producers cast her instead of Kate Hudson, Amy Adams or the frontrunner choice in 2009, Scarlett Johansson.

 

To prepare for her transformation, Williams spent six months reading biographies, diaries, letters, poems, and notes about and from Monroe. She also looked at photographs, watched her films and listened to recordings. Of course she also had to gain weight for the role, and she also worked with a choreographer to perfect Monroe's sexy sway and stride.

 

Stellar support performances are due to Dame Judi Dench (who plays Sybil Thorndike) and Emma Watson as wardrobe assistant Lucy, whom Colin dates during the production before he dumps her when Marilyn flashes her thousand-watt smile at him. 

 

Trust Williams’ Golden Globe win as Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. If you have any interest at all in the life and times of Marilyn, or if you’re a film buff, then you need to check this out. –KG, GMA News

 

“My Week With Marilyn” opened February 29 exclusively at Ayala Malls (Glorietta, Trinoma and Greenbelt cinemas). 

 

All photos courtesy of The Weinstein Company Karl R. De Mesa has been a journalist for the past 14 years. He is also the author of the horror books “Damaged People” and “News of the Shaman,” available in print and international e-book formats. His collected non-fiction is forthcoming very soon in “Report from the Abyss.” He plays guitar for the post-beat, drone metal band Gonzo Army. When stumped, he lets a stud-collared Snoopy push him around and call him names because it's better than having a polar bear do it. The views expressed in this article are solely his own.