My Week With Marilyn

A Good Week

It is very nearly impossible for a modern-day actor or actress to convincingly portray an iconic figure from our celebrated past; the deck is automatically stacked against them--and, with one gesture or note out of place, said performer is held up to immediate ridicule. Such was the dilemma facing Michelle Williams, here cast as movie star Marilyn Monroe. Williams doesn't especially look like Monroe--and her voice isn't exact, either--but she embodies Marilyn's qualities (particularly her little girl insecurities) exceptionally well. Marilyn, in the midst of attempting a 'serious' acting role in a prestigious 1957 British production of "The Sleeping Prince"--co-starring and directed by Laurence Olivier--has just married playwright Arthur Miller and is on top of the world...however, the demons that haunted her throughout her adult life quickly alienate the star from most of the cast and crew. A 23-year-old film buff, who has gotten himself a job on the picture as a gopher, befriends La Monroe and helps ease her worries, yet we don't see how this helps Marilyn get through the rest of the film shoot (she is habitually late, and keeps chronic kiss-ass Paula Strasberg around her like a lap dog). Retitled "The Prince and the Showgirl", the picture within the picture was a failure, so the milieu here isn't exactly rife with fireworks ("Showgirl" was justifiably ignored, and, as the end titles suggest, was a minor ripple in these otherwise successful careers). Kenneth Branagh is a good Olivier, and the supporting cast is generally solid, but the story told here is a slim one, without the expected bite. Williams doesn't give us an impersonation of Marilyn Monroe, she gives a performance. Her work, and the movie's handsome production, are worth-seeing.