Because I have been fascinated with the complex persona of Marilyn Monroe for years, I have read everything I could get my hands on about her, and was curious to see My Week with Marilyn as soon as it opened. I loved it although it would not be everyone's cup of tea.
Shortly after Marilyn married Arthur Miller, the couple flew to England. She was to star in a movie with Laurence Olivier, a huge feather in her cap. The movie was fraught with almost insurmountable problems from the getgo. Olivier, who had never appeared in a movie was used to appearing in front of a large audience. Marilyn wanted desperately to do theatre, but had only appeared in movies.
In addition, her addiction to drugs and alcohol was beginning to take hold, she had a terrible time memorizing her lines, and often appeared on the set hours late. Complicating matters was her dependance on Paula Strausberg, her drama coach, who was just about as weird as she could be.
The plot was almost secondary to the acting, camera work and lighting. Michelle Williams was wonderful as Marilyn, and Eddie Redmayne, the young man on the set who falls in love with her delivered his role with a poignancy perfectly suited to his predicament. What I loved best about the movie was that it proved once again that although, flawed, Marilyn was a marvelous actress. How sad. As time passed in her life she became increasingly tortured due to her inability to release herself from "Marilyn" and become the brilliant actress she might have been.
It's All Temporary
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