My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier's, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during production of The Prince and the Showgirl.

Director:

Simon Curtis

Writers:

Adrian Hodges (screenplay), Colin Clark (books)

Stars:

Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Ormond

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michelle Williams	...	Marilyn Monroe
Eddie Redmayne	...	Colin Clark
Julia Ormond	...	Vivien Leigh
Kenneth Branagh	...	Sir Laurence Olivier
Pip Torrens	...	Sir Kenneth Clark
Geraldine Somerville	...	Lady Jane Clark
Michael Kitchen	...	Hugh Perceval
Miranda Raison	...	Vanessa
Karl Moffatt	...	Jack Cardiff
Simon Russell Beale	...	Cotes-Preedy
Toby Jones	...	Arthur Jacobs
Robert Portal	...	David Orton
Philip Jackson	...	Roger Smith
Jim Carter	...	Barry
Victor McGuire	...	Andy

Storyline

Sir Laurence Olivier is making a movie in London. Young Colin Clark, an eager film student, wants to be involved and he navigates himself a job on the set. When film star Marilyn Monroe arrives for the start of shooting, all of London is excited to see the blonde bombshell, while Olivier is struggling to meet her many demands and acting ineptness, and Colin is intrigued by her. Colin's intrigue is met when Marilyn invites him into her inner world where she struggles with her fame, her beauty and her desire to be a great actress.

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Plot Keywords:

movie | showgirl | movie star | prince | actress | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [ch]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 December 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mi semana con Marilyn

Filming Locations:

Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£6,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,750,507 (USA) (18 November 2011)

Gross:

$14,597,405 (USA) (30 March 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Weinstein Company, The, BBC Films, Lipsync Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The notebook that Arthur Miller wrote and that Marilyn was seen crying over is most likely his initial draft of his play "After the Fall", which features a character that was a parody of Monroe. The play remains one of Miller's most unpopular works.

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Goofs

In the sign on the Dog & Duck, the word "accommodation" is incorrectly spelled.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: In 1956, at the height of her career, Marilyn Monroe went to England to make a film with Sir Laurence Olivier. While there she met a young man named Colin Clark, who wrote a diary about the making of the film. This is their true story.

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Connections

Featured in 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Aces Wild"
Performed by Johnny Ace
Written by Johnny Ace (as John L. Alexander)
Courtesy of MCA Records Inc.
Under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd

User Reviews

Excellent performance in a not very satisfactory movie

My Week with Marilyn went through a similar case to the one of The Iron Lady...everybody acclaimed the lead actress' performance, but nobody spoke too much about the film itself. That might be because the people expected a biography of the iconic blonde, when it is in fact a more modest movie in which Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) is almost a tangential element...an influence who alters the behaviour of those who are around her, even without proposing it to herself. And My Week with Marilyn also offers a look to the English cinematographic industry during the '50s, completely different to the excesses and spectacle from Hollywood. Anyway, you don't have to expect a biography/analysis about Monroe, or you will feel disappointed, like it happened to me.

Even though Monroe was one of the most famous people from 20th century, her private life preserves an aura of mystery which still makes it fascinating to the new generations. That's why I think it was strange to make a film about a kinda trivial moment in the actress' life. Monroe had a very difficult childhood, a meteoric rise to fame, and legendary personal relationships with figures from the sport, the literature and the politics...and they decided to make a film about her experiences shooting a rural comedy in England? However, I found My Week with Marilyn moderately entertaining, mainly because of the extraordinary performances.

Michelle Williams makes a magnificent work as Monroe, because she doesn't make an imitation of her; instead of that, she completely becomes her character. Kenneth Branagh brings a perfect balance of arrogance and professionalism as Laurence Olivier (1907-1989), while Judi Dench brings a lot of enthusiasm and conviction to her short role. As for Eddie Redmayne, he brings an adequate performance, but he feels darkened by Williams, Branagh and Dench.

Nevertheless, My Week with Marilyn didn't leave me very satisfied, because of its weak direction and structural problems in the screenplay which make the film occasionally disjointed and not very credible. However, I can give it a slight recommendation mainly because the performances were enough to keep me moderately entertained.