I went to the cinema with a friend of mine to watch Marilyn. He knows little about film and not a particularly large amount about Marilyn Monroe (even though he is gay. Challenging stereotypes, I suppose). Even still, two minutes into the film he was beaming. Such is the power of Marilyn/ Michelle Williams. The line between the two of them was completely erased in about ten seconds. What a talent to look into a camera and make men melt; to win the adoration of everyone around you simply with a smile. The film opens with a musical number, and it was spectacular. Everyone in the film's audience as well as in the theatre was enraptured. The power is undiminished.
Williams was uncannily good in her performance. We leave the film still not really knowing who Marilyn was, but I have to believe it was exactly like how she was portrayed here because I believe the performance in its entirety. Physicality wise she was spot on--her glowing eyes, the pucker of her lips, her "Marilyn" poses. But so much more than that the sex, the insecurity, the addictive personality, the flakiness, the drive was all there. The real Marilyn and the screen Marilyn were so convincing than a mostly uninspired movie was overwhelmed by her star power.
But about the plot...
Colin Clark, who would later become a moderately successful documentarian, recorded the week he spent with the greatest star in the world while working as the third assistant director in a Laurence Olivier picture. Starting from nothing, and with no qualifications excepting perhaps his beautiful upper lip and dazzling eyes, he managed to secure his job which was really nothing more than a lackey. But what a job for a 23 year old upstart! Perhaps it was natural charm or just really, really good looks that had Marilyn notice him, but in any case he also secured the job as best friend/surrogate husband. Then it ends. The end. Boring.
The plot was actually the dullest and most pointless thing ever. This Colin was an utterly useless character who had utterly useless interactions. There was a silly sub-plot romance between him a seamstress (Emma Watson), and just the generally uninteresting plot about him making it into the film. I understand completely that it was his journal entry and that this was a true story, but this was absolutely one of those types of films where creative licencing should have stepped in and simply taken the nature of Marilyn and constructed something interesting.
But as I said, Williams, who will absolutely get an Oscar nod, made the film sparkle, even when drugged up and drunk (which was often). So many questions were raised about her character which were never properly answered, and rightly so. How much fame is too much for some people? It was miserable to watch a woman from a broken home who jumped from man to man hate the life she led. People loved "Marilyn Monroe", but nobody loved the real her and she knew it.
Other than her the supporting cast was also top notch. Particular to note was Kenneth Branagh who was perfect and hilarious (and perfectly hilarious) doing his impersonation of Sir Laurence Olivier. He currently has my vote as best supporting actor of the year. I giggled all of the way through the film at the grandoiseness of his persona and scarily accurate way he embodied Olivier's performance style. There were also performances of Vivien Leigh, Arthur Miller, and Dame Sybil Thorndike, all wonderful.
This was an actor's movie offering us the tiniest glimpse of one of the most enigmatic personas of all time. I still don't feel like I know anything about her, and I also don't feel like I gained too much from this film, but the performances were good enough for me to give a hearty recommendation.
3/4
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