My Week with Marilyn

Do you ever approach a film with an attitude, so to speak? I mean, do you ever say to yourself, "Come on, show me, because I don't believe this film is gonna be any good!" Well, that was the view I had before seeing My Week with Marilyn. How wrong I was!

This film is outstanding. The goal of the film, in my mind, is to give us a glimpse into the real Marilyn in a creative, new way. Without being a spoiler (NEVER!), I can say that we join a young kid of 23 who works as a gopher (go-for) on the set of a Marilyn film. He falls for the star, of course. He also gets to see the great Sir Lawrence Olivier in action and hang out with Vivien Leigh. Not a bad gig!

Got your interest?

The film is really all about Michelle Williams. The gifted actress truly embodies the sultry blonde. After a while, you believe you're watching Marilyn herself. Michelle gets at the soul of the forlorn actress, from her mental instability to her raw sensuality. She smiles, frowns, pouts, giggles, cries, and basically emotes in such a way that you feel you really know Marilyn...for the very first time.

Marilyn Monroe was iconic: she was the sexy blonde par excellence at a time before Feminism, when slinky dresses and a whispy voice seemed to epitomize the ideal woman. Marilyn married the greats such as Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller. She would eventually run with the Kennedys in a tragic pill-popping frenzy that would lead to her demise.

How sad.....

But gratefully the film does not takes us that far. We view Marilyn in the late 50's, well before her later years.

Grade: A+ A very captivating piece of film-making.