My Week with Marilyn
My Week with Marilyn is about a short window in the career of the immortal Marilyn Monroe just prior to Some Like it Hot when she went to England to work with the greatest actor of his time, Sir Laurence Olivier. She hoped that some of his style would massage her career and as we find out Olivier hoped that her vivaciousness would result in some career and personal rejuvenation. However the chemistry could not have been worse on the set of their comedy The Prince and the Showgirl. No one may have ever been aware of this friction were it not for a third AD on the production named Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) who, though a constant disappointment to his aristocratic family headed by Sir Kenneth Clark (Pip Torrens), was a person that Marilyn took a shine to. His diary of that time is the basis for the bestsellers "My Week with Marilyn" and "The Prince, the Showgirl and Me" upon which this surprisingly charming film is based. That charm is due in no small part to the a-list cast that includes Dame Judi Dench who makes the most of her small part as the aplomb Dame Sybil Thorndike and Richard Branagh who does a pretty good Olivier (then again, what Shakespearean actor doesn’t?) but the most satisfying treat is Michelle Williams in the lead role. She coaxes the camera to love her just like Norma Jean did and just like Joe De Maggio, one of the real Marilyn’s ex’s, Williams consistently knocks it out of the park.