My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during the production of The Prince and the Showgirl (1957).

Director:

Simon Curtis

Writers:

Adrian Hodges (screenplay), Colin Clark (books)

Stars:

Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 62 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 (Sir Kenneth Branagh) is making a movie in London. Young Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), an eager film student, wants to be involved and he navigates himself a job on the set. When movie star Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

marilyn monroe character | laurence olivier character | vivien leigh character | jack cardiff character | arthur miller character | 

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the beginning of the movie, just as Colin's voice-over states he was going to "join the circus", we see the sign for Sir Laurence Olivier's production studio, including its address on Piccadilly. Whether coincidentally or meant as a tongue-in-cheek reference, there is a "Piccadilly Circus" in London. It is a road junction and public space in London's West End.

---

Goofs

Greene tells Colin that he's known Marilyn for seven years. Greene and Marilyn met for the first time in 1953 when he shot her on assignment for Look Magazine, three years before the movie takes place.

---

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.

---

Connections

References Richard III (1955)

---

Soundtracks

You Stepped Out of a Dream
Performed by Nat 'King' Cole (as Nat King Cole)
Words and Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Nacio Herb Brown
Licensed courtesy of EMI Records Ltd
Published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd

User Reviews

Remarkable Performance!

I just saw this film at the Mill Valley Film Festival and was pretty much blown away. My expectations were low and the very beginning of the film seemed to bear that out. Seeing well-known actors playing very well-known actors can take a little getting used to. But both Kenneth Branagh and Michelle Williams did admirable jobs. Michelle was a revelation. She completely inhabited the role of Marilyn in all of her complexity: her vulnerability, her guile, her sweetness, and her insecurity. This is one of the few performances I've seen where I would say someone is a lock for the Oscar. But this is not only a tour-de-force of acting. It is also a compelling and well-told story of the making of a film and of the competing personalities and agendas involved. Eddie Redmayne was wonderful as Colin, the narrator and main character of the story. Judi Dench was her wonderful, wise self. The cast was filled with wonderful character actors who seemed familiar and comfortable. My brother and I agreed that this was a better film than A King's Speech so on that basis alone it should win Best Picture. At the very least, it was an very entertaining and moving night at the movies.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Switzerland]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

23 December 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Week with Marilyn

Filming Locations:

Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP6,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,750,507, 27 November 2011

Gross USA:

$14,600,347

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$35,057,696

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Weinstein Company, BBC Films, Lipsync Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1