W.E. (2011)

The affair between King Edward VIII and American divorcée Wallis Simpson, and a contemporary romance between a married woman and a Russian security guard.

Director:

Madonna

Writers:

Alek Keshishian, Madonna

Stars:

Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, James D'Arcy

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Abbie Cornish	...	Wally Winthrop
Andrea Riseborough	...	Wallis Simpson
James D'Arcy	...	Edward
Oscar Isaac	...	Evgeni
Richard Coyle	...	William Winthrop
David Harbour	...	Ernest
James Fox	...	King George V
Judy Parfitt	...	Queen Mary
Haluk Bilginer	...	Mohamed Al-Fayed
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Stanley Baldwin
Natalie Dormer	...	Elizabeth
Laurence Fox	...	Bertie
Douglas Reith	...	Lord Brownlow
Katie McGrath	...	Lady Thelma
Christina Chong	...	Tenten

Storyline

In 1998, an auction of the estate of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor causes great excitement. For one woman, Wally Winthrop, it has much more meaning. Wally becomes obsessed by their historic love story. As she learns more about the sacrifices involved, Wally gains her own courage to find happiness.

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Plot Keywords:

love | king | auction | unfaithfulness | royal romance | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some domestic violence, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

UK

Language:

English French Russian

Release Date:

20 January 2012 (UK)

Also Known As:

El romance del siglo

Filming Locations:

Cap d'Antibes, Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$47,074 (USA) (3 February 2012)

Gross:

$582,075 (USA) (4 May 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Semtex Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Laurence Fox previously played King George VI's grandson Prince Charles in Whatever Love Means.

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Goofs

In the newsreel scene from 1936 showing the funeral procession of Edward's father the King, the voiceover announcer says that "King George the Third has died and the nation mourns". It should of course have been King George the Fifth.

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Quotes

Wallis Simpson: Are you trying to seduce me?
Edward: Is it working?

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Connections

Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 3 September 2011 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Masterpiece"
Written by Madonna, Julie Frost and James Harry
Produced by Madonna and William Orbit
Performed by Madonna

User Reviews

A Semi-Noble Failure

Having finally opened in the UK, I've now had the opportunity to watch 'W.E.', having followed its coverage to this point with interest. I can't, in all honestly, say that this is a good movie. I'll back the common positives and reiterate that it looks amazing and Andrea Riseborough is wonderful in it. The score, while lovely, is over- powering at times - Madonna is obviously terrified of silence!

I went with the movie quite happily for the first hour. The Wallis and Edward scenes are effective (I thought the dizzying/choppy camera work worked really well contrasting with the vintage images) and reminded me quite a bit of Stephen Fry's movie "Bright Young Things". But they had absolutely zero dramatic tension. Largely, this was due to the fact that they weren't chronological, but also it was because (to my horror) they almost seemed there to serve the modern day story, rather than vice versa.

And as for those modern day parts ... well ... Firstly, I'll say that I didn't think the concept was bad and it had potential. However, they needed to be trimmed by about three quarters. Christ, did they ever go on. The dialogue was serviceable, at best, and toe-curling at worst. The character of Wally was about as engaging as a paper clip and that was largely due to Abby Cornish's lifeless performance. Honestly, I wanted to scream at the screen, "Stop whispering all the time and TALK, woman!" That said, if the movie had only cut to these scenes every so often and used them as well-timed interjections, rather than as a story worthy of screen time in their own right, it would have been more bearable.

The film really lost me in the second hour when I realised it had used up all its party tricks and it was obvious where it was going. (And, no, I don't mean the Wallis/Edward story arch, but how it was going to contrast the two tales, and what the oh-so-obvious climax was going to be.) By the end, I couldn't wait for it to finish.

There are some lovely scenes, though, and several nice touches throughout. But while the infamous 'Pretty Vacant' sequence is probably trying to say profound things about Wallis having a punk spirit, it feels rather out of place. (It's fun, though, I'll give it that.)

So, really, it's nowhere near the one star disaster many are claiming. And I, genuinely, can't see why anyone could charge it would be, other than to appear 'cool' to knock Madge. It's got too much going for it, for that.

But the reason I said 'semi-noble failure' is because, while I think it had some ambition, it's indulgent to a fault. At least twenty minutes of this movie are taken up by Abby Cornish wandering around Sothebys, exchanging in vacant platitudes with the Russian security guard, or looking blandly at something we're told should be exciting by the volume of the score. And, I guess, the blame for including such non-interesting stuff must lie with the movie's director.