My Week with Marilyn
2011
***
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Watson, Judi Dench, Dougray Scott, Michael Kitchen, Julia Ormond, Toby Jones
Young graduate Colin Clark gets a dream job as third assistant director (read: errand boy) on Laurence Olivier's 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl. During the arduous shoot, he grows closer and closer to its glamorous star, Marilyn Monroe. Adrian Hodges scripted this fact-based comedy drama from Clark's books The Prince, The Showgirl and Me and My Week with Marilyn. It starts as a light and funny comedy of manners, as Olivier and Monroe clash amusingly on the set. In the second half, the increasingly fragile screen icon struggles with the cost of fame and Clark comes of age. The film gets gloomier and less interesting as a result. Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh are the standouts in a great cast.
