My Week with Marilyn
Encyclopedia
My Week with Marilyn is a British drama film
directed by Simon Curtis and written by Adrian Hodges
. It stars Michelle Williams
, Kenneth Branagh
, Eddie Redmayne
, Dougray Scott
, Judi Dench
and Emma Watson
. Based on two books by Colin Clark
, it depicts the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl
, which starred Marilyn Monroe
(Williams) and Laurence Olivier
(Branagh). The film focuses on the week in which Monroe spent time being escorted around Britain by Clark (Redmayne), after her husband, Arthur Miller
(Scott), left the country.
Principal photography began on 4 October 2010 at Pinewood Studios
. Filming took place at Saltwood Castle
, White Waltham Airfield
and on locations in and around London
. Curtis also used the same studio in which Monroe shot The Prince and the Showgirl in 1956. My Week with Marilyn had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival
on 9 October 2011 and was shown at the Mill Valley Film Festival
two days later. The film was released on 23 November 2011 in the United States and 25 November in the United Kingdom.
works as an assistant on the British set of The Prince and the Showgirl
, which stars Laurence Olivier
and Marilyn Monroe
, who is also on honeymoon with her new husband, playwright Arthur Miller
. When Miller leaves the country, Clark introduces Monroe to British life and they spend a week together, during which time she escapes from her Hollywood routine and the pressures of work.
. The film was directed by Simon Curtis, and it was his feature debut. David Parfitt
produced the film, which was financed by The Weinstein Company
and BBC Films
.
became the frontrunner to play Marilyn Monroe in the film. Kate Hudson
, Amy Adams
and Michelle Williams were also named as potential candidates for Monroe. Three months later, it was revealed that Williams was in talks for the role. Williams was the only actress that producers met with during casting, despite the other actresses being considered for the role. Williams told Adam Green of Vogue
that the notion of playing Monroe was daunting, but as she finished reading the script, she knew she wanted the role. The actress then spent six months reading biographies, diaries, letters, poems, and notes about and from Monroe. She also looked at photographs, watched her films and listened to recordings. Williams had to gain weight for the role and she worked with a choreographer to help perfect Monroe's walk.
More than forty actors auditioned for the role of Clark, among them was James Jagger, who began talks with producers in May 2010. In September, it was announced that Eddie Redmayne
had been cast as Clark. Parfitt told the Daily Mail
that finding an actor for the role had been difficult. He said "It's a devilishly tricky part to find the right person for because Colin went to Eton, studied at Oxford and flew for the RAF." That same month, it was also announced that Harry Potter
actress Emma Watson
had been cast in the small role of wardrobe assistant, Lucy. Watson was scheduled to spend only a few days on set shooting her scenes to prevent her studies at Brown University
from being interrupted. Kenneth Branagh
began talks with producers for the role of Laurence Olivier in July 2010 after Ralph Fiennes
had to pull out to direct his adaptation of Coriolanus
. Branagh was later cast in the role.
Dominic Cooper
was given the role of Milton H. Greene
, a photographer and Monroe's business partner. Of Greene, Cooper said "He was quite an old man, but they had a very close relationship. I think Marilyn felt very supported by him in the beginning. But ultimately he became her agent and business partner, which is rather a lot." Cooper filmed his scenes in between his work on Captain America: The First Avenger
. Catherine Zeta-Jones
was approached by executives at The Weinstein Company to appear in the film as the actress Vivien Leigh
. Zeta-Jones turned down the role as she did not want to spend a week or more away from her husband, Michael Douglas
, who was being treated for throat cancer. Curtis and the producers began auditioning other actresses and they later cast Julia Ormond
in the role. Ormond's casting was announced at the same time as Dougray Scott
's, who portrays Arthur Miller
. Derek Jacobi
was cast as Sir Owen Morshead, the royal librarian at Windsor Castle, Philip Jackson
plays Monroe's private detective and Judi Dench
plays Sybil Thorndike
. Zoë Wanamaker
is Paula Strasberg
, the actress' acting consultant and Richard Clifford was cast as Richard Wattis
, the actor who played a courtier in The Prince and the Showgirl. The film also stars Toby Jones
, Philip Jackson
, Geraldine Somerville
and Simon Russell Beale
. It was announced on 8 October 2010, that casting on the film had been completed.
from 4 October 2010. Three days later, White Waltham Airfield
was turned into a 1950s London Heathrow Airport
to recreate the moment when Monroe arrived in Britain to begin production on The Prince and the Showgirl. The studio in which Monroe shot The Prince and the Showgirl in 1956 was used to film scenes for My Week with Marilyn. Williams was given the same dressing room Monroe had used at the time of her shoot. Filming took place on locations in and around London. These included a house near Windsor in which Monroe and Miller lived in during their stay in England. British Cinematographer reported the production also shot at Saltwood Castle
, near Folkestone, where Clark grew up as a young boy.
Cinematographer Ben Smithard said the creative and visual references in My Week with Marilyn did not come from other films, but from stills of American photographer and painter, Saul Leiter
. Smithard told British Cinematographer that a significant amount of time was spent in pre-production. He said "On an historic film like this, you need to do as much prep as you can get. It's like a history lesson, and you can learn about a point in time." The cinematographer framed My Week with Marilyn in the letterbox
format as it is "very good for personal stories" and suited the film. He added that it is easy to frame two actors, but the format is not so good for architectural features. The shoot for My Week with Marilyn lasted seven weeks and was completed in November 2010. Post production ran from 28 November 2010 until 31 August 2011.
and Match Point
, created the costumes for the film in six weeks and she dressed the entire cast. She sourced many of the items from vintage shops, auction houses and markets. Speaking to Estella Shardlow of Vintage Seekers, Taylor said "I trawled through loads and loads of antiques fairs and vintage shops to see if we could find original vintage pieces that would suffice for the film. We were pretty successful but we also had to reproduce a lot from original photographs – for example, we had to do the scene where she lands in this country, which is well-documented on newsreel." Taylor told Shardlow it was difficult to find fabrics that looked as "lush" as they did in the fifties and she had some challenging costumes to make, including a dress from the The Prince and the Showgirl for Dench's character, Sybil Thorndike. The designer also said she had to make some adaptations to a suit worn by Ormond, as she is a completely different body shape to her character, Vivien Leigh. During research for Watson's character, Lucy, Taylor found an original cast and crew photograph from The Prince and the Showgirl. One of the girls in the picture was wearing a tartan dress, so Taylor went out and found Watson an original tartan dress to wear. She said she and her team had fun with Watson's character, as she is a young and fashion-conscious girl. The designer said "Given the American influence to England in the 50s, her style is quite Sandra Dee and girlie."
Taylor told Sarah Smith of InStyle that she worked from many photographs of Monroe, particularly ones taken on her honeymoon with Miller. Taylor said she drew upon a certain picture of the actress wearing a man's shirt and a pencil skirt and she made the outfit for the film. Taylor added "There was also one scene when [Michelle as Marilyn] is in a car and she's got a black chiffon headscarf and there was a coat I did for her that was actually in the Sotheby's catalogue. We reproduced that coat, which was like an oatmeal silk coat with a black velvet collar, and we made it into a jacket for Michelle, rather than a coat." Taylor also worked with Williams during the design process and she explained the actres would bring picture references for her. Taylor would do sketches for Williams as they talked and the designer said "it was a collaboration about what she thought she would like to wear and what I thought." The designer told Smith she was very pleased with how successful the white dress she had made for Williams during The Prince and the Showgirl scenes turned out. Taylor used a fitting photograph of Monroe with The Prince and the Showgirl costume designer to help her make the garment. She explained that the dress was quite intricate to make and there were no doubles, so Williams had to wear the same dress for eleven days. Taylor worried that something would happen to the dress and was relieved when the shoot was over. When asked if Williams had a favourite outfit, Taylor said the actress particularly enjoyed wearing a black dress and the skirt and shirt combination.
, and French film composer, Alexandre Desplat
. Desplat wrote a piece of music for My Week with Marilyn titled "Marilyn's Theme", which Pope adapted into his score. Pianist Lang Lang
is a featured performer on several of Pope and Desplat's compositions. Williams also features on the soundtrack singing "I Found A Dream", "That Old Black Magic" and a medley of "When Love Goes Wrong, Nothing Goes Right" and "Heat Wave
". Other songs include "Autumn Leaves
" and "Memories Are Made of This
". The soundtrack was released digitally on 1 November 2011.
. It was officially released on 6 October 2011. My Week with Marilyn had its world premiere on 9 October 2011 at the 49th New York Film Festival
. The film was shown at the Mill Valley Film Festival
two days later and it was then added to the lineups of the Hamptons International Film Festival
and the 26th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. My Week with Marilyn was the centerpiece presentation at the 47th Chicago International Film Festival
and it was shown at the Wooburn Festival in High Wycombe
on 17 October. It was later screened at the Philadelphia Film Festival
and AFI Fest
.
My Week with Marilyn was released on 25 November in the United Kingdom. The film was originally scheduled to be released on 4 November in the United States, but shortly after its premiere at the New York Film Festival, The Weinstein Company moved the release date to 23 November. The film opened in a limited release in 73 markets and 244 theaters.
reports that 82% of 122 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average
of 7.1 out of 10. According to the site's summary of the critical consensus, "Michelle Williams shines in My Week with Marilyn, capturing the magnetism and vulnerability of Marilyn Monroe." Metacritic
, which assigns a score of 1–100 to individual film reviews, gives the film an average rating of 65 based on 36 reviews. David Rooney from The Hollywood Reporter
praised Williams' performance and said she nailed Monroe's vocal style. Rooney also praised Redmayne as Clark, saying his scenes with Williams were captivating. However, Rooney went on to say "Fault lies with both Hodges’ workmanlike script and Curtis' failure to excavate much psychological depth." He added My Week with Marilyn is starchy and short on perspective, making it "superficial showbiz pageantry." Ronnie Scheib of Variety
said My Week with Marilyn "flits uneasily between arch drawing-room comedy and foreshadowed tragedy" and is too stagily directed by Curtis, who lines up the characters with "no attention to spatial logic or rhythmic flow." Scheib added the film coasts on Williams' performance, while the story feels like it has been ripped from film fan magazines of the time.
Adam Green of Vogue said the film does not quite reach "the high drama and urgency of a period piece like The King's Speech", but it does evoke a vanished era in filmmaking. Green added Williams is the main attraction and she brings Monroe to life "with heartbreaking delicacy and precision without resorting to impersonation or cliché." Regina Weinreich
of The Huffington Post
called My Week with Marilyn a "gem" and said the story "manages to convey so much of Marilyn, particularly her child-like vulnerability, her insecurity as an actress, her natural charm and talents. While we have seen Michelle Williams tap dance and heard her sing before -- she was superb in last year's Blue Valentine
-- her moves and voice as Marilyn evoke the subject's understated, magnetic performances." Weinreich went on to praise the rest of the cast, including Redmayne, Branagh and Dench, saying they are "especially good." A writer for indieWire
said My Week with Marilyn is like a "superficial Lifetime made for TV-movie." The writer went on to say the film is not terrible, but there is "very little meat on the bone." They added the film has a terrific cast who do their best with an average script. Robbie Collin, writing for The Daily Telegraph
gave the film three out of five stars and said "Michelle Williams makes a mesmeric Monroe in My Week With Marilyn, but the film falls disappointingly short on boop-boop-be-doo."
The Miami Herald's Rene Rodriguez gave the film three out of four stars. He said "One of the chief pleasures of My Week with Marilyn — which should not be approached as anything other than fluffy entertainment — is watching Williams bring to life Monroe's inner demons and her movie-star allure with equal aplomb." The New Yorker
's film critic David Denby
also praised Williams' performance as Monroe, saying "In My Week with Marilyn, Williams makes the star come alive. She has Monroe's walk, the easy, swivelling neck, the face that responds to everything like a flower swaying in the breeze. Most important, she has the sexual sweetness and the hurt, lost look that shifts, in a flash, into resistance and tears." The critic called the film "charming and touching" and said it is expertly made. Writing for Time
, Mary Pols called My Week with Marilyn "nothing more than a lively confection." Pols went on to say "Williams locates a central truth, the contradictory allure of this utterly impossible woman — mercurial, vain, foolish, but also intelligent in some very primal way and achingly vulnerable." Upon giving the film three and a half out of four stars, critic Roger Ebert
said "What matters is the performance by Michelle Williams. She evokes so many Marilyns, public and private, real and make-believe. We didn't know Monroe, but we believe she must have been something like this. We're probably looking at one of this year's Oscar nominees."
Manohla Dargis
of The New York Times
thought Branagh was miscast as Olivier, but she said he made up for that with "his crisp, at times clipped, enunciation and a physical performance that gives Olivier enough vitality so that when, early in, the character sweeps into his production office with his wife, Vivien Leigh (Julia Ormond, a wan placeholder for the original), he dazzles Clark and jolts this slow-stirring movie awake." Of Williams, the film critic said she "tries her best, and sometimes that's almost enough." Dargis said the main problem is with Hodges' script, which "offers a catalog of Monroe stereotypes." Stella Papamichael of Digital Spy
gave the film four out of five stars and she praised many of the cast's performances. Papamichael added "While you won't learn anything new about Marilyn Monroe, you can revel in the silky feel of nostalgia." Empire
magazine's Angie Errigo gave My Week with Marilyn three out of five stars and she said "At moments hilarious and others touching, it's a sweet, slight affair, more pretty pageant than pithy biographical drama. Expect awards nominations to stack up for Williams and Branagh."
For her performances in My Week with Marilyn, Meek's Cutoff
and Take This Waltz
, Williams was given the Best Actress award at the 2011 Hollywood Film Festival
. On 25 November 2011, it was announced Williams would receive the 2012 Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award from the Palm Springs International Film Festival
in recognition of her performance in My Week with Marilyn. Four days later, Williams was nominated for Best Female Lead
at the Independent Spirit Awards
.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Simon Curtis and written by Adrian Hodges
Adrian Hodges
Adrian Hodges is a British television and film writer.He began his career in journalism for Screen International magazine and his screenwriting debut was the 1991 television drama Tell Me That You Love Me, followed by screenplays for The Bridge and Tom & Viv for which Miranda Richardson and...
. It stars Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams (actress)
Michelle Ingrid Williams is an American actress. After starting her career with television guest appearances in the early 1990s, Williams achieved recognition for her role as Jen Lindley on the WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek, which she played from 1998 to 2003...
, Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
, Eddie Redmayne
Eddie Redmayne
Edward John David "Eddie" Redmayne is an English actor and model. Redmayne won the 2010 Tony Award as best featured actor in a play for his performance in Red.-Early life:...
, Dougray Scott
Dougray Scott
-Early life:The son of Elma, a nurse, and Alan Scott, an actor and salesperson, Stephen Dougray Scott was born in Glenrothes, Fife and attended Auchmuty High School...
, Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
and Emma Watson
Emma Watson
Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson is an English actress and model.Watson rose to prominence playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series. Watson was cast as Hermione at the age of nine, having previously acted only in school plays. From 2001 to 2011, she starred in all eight Harry Potter...
. Based on two books by Colin Clark
Colin Clark (filmmaker)
Colin Clark was a British writer and filmmaker who specialised in films for cinema and television about the arts...
, it depicts the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl
The Prince and the Showgirl
The Prince and the Showgirl is a 1957 American film produced at Pinewood Studios starring Marilyn Monroe and co-starring Laurence Olivier who also served as director and producer.The film was released on 13 June 1957...
, which starred Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
(Williams) and Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
(Branagh). The film focuses on the week in which Monroe spent time being escorted around Britain by Clark (Redmayne), after her husband, Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
(Scott), left the country.
Principal photography began on 4 October 2010 at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
. Filming took place at Saltwood Castle
Saltwood Castle
Saltwood Castle is a castle in Saltwood village—which derives its name from the castle—1 mile north of Hythe, Kent, England.The castle is known as the site where the plot was hatched to assassinate Thomas Becket...
, White Waltham Airfield
White Waltham Airfield
White Waltham Airfield , is located at White Waltham, southwest of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England...
and on locations in and around London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Curtis also used the same studio in which Monroe shot The Prince and the Showgirl in 1956. My Week with Marilyn had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
on 9 October 2011 and was shown at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Mill Valley Film Festival
The Mill Valley Film Festival is an annual, non-competitive film festival presented by the California Film Institute. Known as a filmmakers’ festival, the annual Mill Valley Film Festival offers a non-competitive environment for exhibiting independent and world cinema.Founded in 1978 by MVFF...
two days later. The film was released on 23 November 2011 in the United States and 25 November in the United Kingdom.
Plot
In the summer of 1956, Colin ClarkColin Clark (filmmaker)
Colin Clark was a British writer and filmmaker who specialised in films for cinema and television about the arts...
works as an assistant on the British set of The Prince and the Showgirl
The Prince and the Showgirl
The Prince and the Showgirl is a 1957 American film produced at Pinewood Studios starring Marilyn Monroe and co-starring Laurence Olivier who also served as director and producer.The film was released on 13 June 1957...
, which stars Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, who is also on honeymoon with her new husband, playwright Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
. When Miller leaves the country, Clark introduces Monroe to British life and they spend a week together, during which time she escapes from her Hollywood routine and the pressures of work.
Cast
- Michelle WilliamsMichelle Williams (actress)Michelle Ingrid Williams is an American actress. After starting her career with television guest appearances in the early 1990s, Williams achieved recognition for her role as Jen Lindley on the WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek, which she played from 1998 to 2003...
as Marilyn MonroeMarilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s.... - Kenneth BranaghKenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
as Sir Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright... - Eddie RedmayneEddie RedmayneEdward John David "Eddie" Redmayne is an English actor and model. Redmayne won the 2010 Tony Award as best featured actor in a play for his performance in Red.-Early life:...
as Colin ClarkColin Clark (filmmaker)Colin Clark was a British writer and filmmaker who specialised in films for cinema and television about the arts... - Judi DenchJudi DenchDame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
as Dame Sybil ThorndikeSybil ThorndikeDame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral... - Emma WatsonEmma WatsonEmma Charlotte Duerre Watson is an English actress and model.Watson rose to prominence playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series. Watson was cast as Hermione at the age of nine, having previously acted only in school plays. From 2001 to 2011, she starred in all eight Harry Potter...
as Lucy - Dougray ScottDougray Scott-Early life:The son of Elma, a nurse, and Alan Scott, an actor and salesperson, Stephen Dougray Scott was born in Glenrothes, Fife and attended Auchmuty High School...
as Arthur MillerArthur MillerArthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,... - Dominic CooperDominic CooperDominic Edward Cooper is an English actor. He has worked in TV, film, theatre and radio, in productions including Mamma Mia!, The Duchess, The History Boys, and The Devil's Double.- Early life :...
as Milton H. GreeneMilton H. GreeneMilton H. Greene was a fashion and celebrity photographer. He was active for over four decades. He is best known for the photoshoots he did with Marilyn Monroe.-Life and career:... - Julia OrmondJulia OrmondJulia Karin Ormond is an English actress who has appeared in film and television and on stage.-Early life and education:...
as Vivien LeighVivien LeighVivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark... - Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
as Sir Owen Morshead - Zoë WanamakerZoe WanamakerZoë Wanamaker, CBE is an American-British actress. She has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company; in films, including the Harry Potter series; and in a number of television productions, including a long-time role as Susan Harper in the sitcom My Family.-Early life and family:Wanamaker was...
as Paula StrasbergPaula StrasbergPaula Miller Strasberg was a former stage actress who became actor and teacher Lee Strasberg's second wife, mother of actors John and Susan Strasberg as well as Marilyn Monroe's acting coach and confidante.... - Richard Clifford as Richard WattisRichard WattisRichard Cameron Wattis , was an English character actor.He attended King Edward's School, Birmingham and Bromsgrove School, after which he worked for the family electrical engineering firm before becoming a professional actor. After his debut with Croydon Repertory Theatre he made many stage...
- Philip JacksonPhilip Jackson (actor)Philip Jackson is an English actor, known for his many television and film roles, most notably as Chief Inspector Japp in the television series Poirot and as Abbot Hugo, one of the recurring adversaries in the cult 1980s series Robin of Sherwood. Jackson was born in Retford, Nottinghamshire...
as Roger Smith - Simon Russell BealeSimon Russell BealeSimon Russell Beale, CBE is an English actor. He has been described by The Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation."-Early years:...
as Admiral Cotes-Preedy
Development
My Week with Marilyn is based on Colin Clark's The Prince, The Showgirl and Me and My Week with Marilyn; two diary accounts, which explore his time on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl and the time he spent with Monroe. The screenplay was adapted and written by Adrian HodgesAdrian Hodges
Adrian Hodges is a British television and film writer.He began his career in journalism for Screen International magazine and his screenwriting debut was the 1991 television drama Tell Me That You Love Me, followed by screenplays for The Bridge and Tom & Viv for which Miranda Richardson and...
. The film was directed by Simon Curtis, and it was his feature debut. David Parfitt
David Parfitt
David Parfitt is a film producer and actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1998 for Shakespeare in Love....
produced the film, which was financed by The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
and BBC Films
BBC Films
BBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including An Education, StreetDance 3D, Fish Tank, Stage Beauty, A Cock and Bull Story, Nativity! and Match Point.It aims to make strong British films with...
.
Casting
In August 2009, Scarlett JohanssonScarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
became the frontrunner to play Marilyn Monroe in the film. Kate Hudson
Kate Hudson
Kate Garry Hudson is an American actress. She came to prominence in 2001 after winning a Golden Globe and receiving several nominations, including a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Almost Famous. She then starred in the hit film How to Lose a Guy in 10...
, Amy Adams
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams is an American actress and singer. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous...
and Michelle Williams were also named as potential candidates for Monroe. Three months later, it was revealed that Williams was in talks for the role. Williams was the only actress that producers met with during casting, despite the other actresses being considered for the role. Williams told Adam Green of Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
that the notion of playing Monroe was daunting, but as she finished reading the script, she knew she wanted the role. The actress then spent six months reading biographies, diaries, letters, poems, and notes about and from Monroe. She also looked at photographs, watched her films and listened to recordings. Williams had to gain weight for the role and she worked with a choreographer to help perfect Monroe's walk.
More than forty actors auditioned for the role of Clark, among them was James Jagger, who began talks with producers in May 2010. In September, it was announced that Eddie Redmayne
Eddie Redmayne
Edward John David "Eddie" Redmayne is an English actor and model. Redmayne won the 2010 Tony Award as best featured actor in a play for his performance in Red.-Early life:...
had been cast as Clark. Parfitt told the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
that finding an actor for the role had been difficult. He said "It's a devilishly tricky part to find the right person for because Colin went to Eton, studied at Oxford and flew for the RAF." That same month, it was also announced that Harry Potter
Harry Potter (film series)
The Harry Potter film series is a British-American film series based on the Harry Potter novels by the British author J. K. Rowling...
actress Emma Watson
Emma Watson
Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson is an English actress and model.Watson rose to prominence playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series. Watson was cast as Hermione at the age of nine, having previously acted only in school plays. From 2001 to 2011, she starred in all eight Harry Potter...
had been cast in the small role of wardrobe assistant, Lucy. Watson was scheduled to spend only a few days on set shooting her scenes to prevent her studies at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
from being interrupted. Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
began talks with producers for the role of Laurence Olivier in July 2010 after Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
had to pull out to direct his adaptation of Coriolanus
Coriolanus
Gaius Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" because of his exceptional valor in a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He was then promoted to a general...
. Branagh was later cast in the role.
Dominic Cooper
Dominic Cooper
Dominic Edward Cooper is an English actor. He has worked in TV, film, theatre and radio, in productions including Mamma Mia!, The Duchess, The History Boys, and The Devil's Double.- Early life :...
was given the role of Milton H. Greene
Milton H. Greene
Milton H. Greene was a fashion and celebrity photographer. He was active for over four decades. He is best known for the photoshoots he did with Marilyn Monroe.-Life and career:...
, a photographer and Monroe's business partner. Of Greene, Cooper said "He was quite an old man, but they had a very close relationship. I think Marilyn felt very supported by him in the beginning. But ultimately he became her agent and business partner, which is rather a lot." Cooper filmed his scenes in between his work on Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
. Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
was approached by executives at The Weinstein Company to appear in the film as the actress Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
. Zeta-Jones turned down the role as she did not want to spend a week or more away from her husband, Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
, who was being treated for throat cancer. Curtis and the producers began auditioning other actresses and they later cast Julia Ormond
Julia Ormond
Julia Karin Ormond is an English actress who has appeared in film and television and on stage.-Early life and education:...
in the role. Ormond's casting was announced at the same time as Dougray Scott
Dougray Scott
-Early life:The son of Elma, a nurse, and Alan Scott, an actor and salesperson, Stephen Dougray Scott was born in Glenrothes, Fife and attended Auchmuty High School...
's, who portrays Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
. Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
was cast as Sir Owen Morshead, the royal librarian at Windsor Castle, Philip Jackson
Philip Jackson (actor)
Philip Jackson is an English actor, known for his many television and film roles, most notably as Chief Inspector Japp in the television series Poirot and as Abbot Hugo, one of the recurring adversaries in the cult 1980s series Robin of Sherwood. Jackson was born in Retford, Nottinghamshire...
plays Monroe's private detective and Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
plays Sybil Thorndike
Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
. Zoë Wanamaker
Zoe Wanamaker
Zoë Wanamaker, CBE is an American-British actress. She has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company; in films, including the Harry Potter series; and in a number of television productions, including a long-time role as Susan Harper in the sitcom My Family.-Early life and family:Wanamaker was...
is Paula Strasberg
Paula Strasberg
Paula Miller Strasberg was a former stage actress who became actor and teacher Lee Strasberg's second wife, mother of actors John and Susan Strasberg as well as Marilyn Monroe's acting coach and confidante....
, the actress' acting consultant and Richard Clifford was cast as Richard Wattis
Richard Wattis
Richard Cameron Wattis , was an English character actor.He attended King Edward's School, Birmingham and Bromsgrove School, after which he worked for the family electrical engineering firm before becoming a professional actor. After his debut with Croydon Repertory Theatre he made many stage...
, the actor who played a courtier in The Prince and the Showgirl. The film also stars Toby Jones
Toby Jones
Toby Edward Heslewood Jones is an English actor.-Early life:Jones was born in Hammersmith, London, the son of actors Jennifer and Freddie Jones...
, Philip Jackson
Philip Jackson (actor)
Philip Jackson is an English actor, known for his many television and film roles, most notably as Chief Inspector Japp in the television series Poirot and as Abbot Hugo, one of the recurring adversaries in the cult 1980s series Robin of Sherwood. Jackson was born in Retford, Nottinghamshire...
, Geraldine Somerville
Geraldine Somerville
Geraldine Margaret Agnew-Somerville is a British actress best known for her roles as Detective Sergeant Jane "Panhandle" Penhaligon in Cracker, and Lily Potter in the Harry Potter film series.-Early life:...
and Simon Russell Beale
Simon Russell Beale
Simon Russell Beale, CBE is an English actor. He has been described by The Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation."-Early years:...
. It was announced on 8 October 2010, that casting on the film had been completed.
Filming
Principal photography on My Week with Marilyn commenced on 19 September 2010. Dench filmed her scenes during that month as she had to go to India to begin work on another project. Shooting took place at the Pinewood StudiosPinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
from 4 October 2010. Three days later, White Waltham Airfield
White Waltham Airfield
White Waltham Airfield , is located at White Waltham, southwest of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England...
was turned into a 1950s London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
to recreate the moment when Monroe arrived in Britain to begin production on The Prince and the Showgirl. The studio in which Monroe shot The Prince and the Showgirl in 1956 was used to film scenes for My Week with Marilyn. Williams was given the same dressing room Monroe had used at the time of her shoot. Filming took place on locations in and around London. These included a house near Windsor in which Monroe and Miller lived in during their stay in England. British Cinematographer reported the production also shot at Saltwood Castle
Saltwood Castle
Saltwood Castle is a castle in Saltwood village—which derives its name from the castle—1 mile north of Hythe, Kent, England.The castle is known as the site where the plot was hatched to assassinate Thomas Becket...
, near Folkestone, where Clark grew up as a young boy.
Cinematographer Ben Smithard said the creative and visual references in My Week with Marilyn did not come from other films, but from stills of American photographer and painter, Saul Leiter
Saul Leiter
Saul Leiter is an American photographer and painter whose early work in the 1940s and 1950s was an important contribution to what came to be recognized as The New York School.-Biography:...
. Smithard told British Cinematographer that a significant amount of time was spent in pre-production. He said "On an historic film like this, you need to do as much prep as you can get. It's like a history lesson, and you can learn about a point in time." The cinematographer framed My Week with Marilyn in the letterbox
Letterbox
Letterboxing is the practice of transferring film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard-width video formats while preserving the film's original aspect ratio. The resulting videographic image has mattes above and below it; these mattes are part of the image...
format as it is "very good for personal stories" and suited the film. He added that it is easy to frame two actors, but the format is not so good for architectural features. The shoot for My Week with Marilyn lasted seven weeks and was completed in November 2010. Post production ran from 28 November 2010 until 31 August 2011.
Costume design
The costume designer for My Week with Marilyn was Jill Taylor. Taylor, who previously worked on Sliding DoorsSliding Doors
Sliding Doors is a 1998 British-American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah, and featured John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Virginia McKenna. The music was composed by David Hirschfelder...
and Match Point
Match Point
Match Point is a 2005 dramatic thriller film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton....
, created the costumes for the film in six weeks and she dressed the entire cast. She sourced many of the items from vintage shops, auction houses and markets. Speaking to Estella Shardlow of Vintage Seekers, Taylor said "I trawled through loads and loads of antiques fairs and vintage shops to see if we could find original vintage pieces that would suffice for the film. We were pretty successful but we also had to reproduce a lot from original photographs – for example, we had to do the scene where she lands in this country, which is well-documented on newsreel." Taylor told Shardlow it was difficult to find fabrics that looked as "lush" as they did in the fifties and she had some challenging costumes to make, including a dress from the The Prince and the Showgirl for Dench's character, Sybil Thorndike. The designer also said she had to make some adaptations to a suit worn by Ormond, as she is a completely different body shape to her character, Vivien Leigh. During research for Watson's character, Lucy, Taylor found an original cast and crew photograph from The Prince and the Showgirl. One of the girls in the picture was wearing a tartan dress, so Taylor went out and found Watson an original tartan dress to wear. She said she and her team had fun with Watson's character, as she is a young and fashion-conscious girl. The designer said "Given the American influence to England in the 50s, her style is quite Sandra Dee and girlie."
Taylor told Sarah Smith of InStyle that she worked from many photographs of Monroe, particularly ones taken on her honeymoon with Miller. Taylor said she drew upon a certain picture of the actress wearing a man's shirt and a pencil skirt and she made the outfit for the film. Taylor added "There was also one scene when [Michelle as Marilyn] is in a car and she's got a black chiffon headscarf and there was a coat I did for her that was actually in the Sotheby's catalogue. We reproduced that coat, which was like an oatmeal silk coat with a black velvet collar, and we made it into a jacket for Michelle, rather than a coat." Taylor also worked with Williams during the design process and she explained the actres would bring picture references for her. Taylor would do sketches for Williams as they talked and the designer said "it was a collaboration about what she thought she would like to wear and what I thought." The designer told Smith she was very pleased with how successful the white dress she had made for Williams during The Prince and the Showgirl scenes turned out. Taylor used a fitting photograph of Monroe with The Prince and the Showgirl costume designer to help her make the garment. She explained that the dress was quite intricate to make and there were no doubles, so Williams had to wear the same dress for eleven days. Taylor worried that something would happen to the dress and was relieved when the shoot was over. When asked if Williams had a favourite outfit, Taylor said the actress particularly enjoyed wearing a black dress and the skirt and shirt combination.
Music
The film's original score was composed by American film composer and orchestrator, Conrad PopeConrad Pope
Conrad Pope is an American film composer and orchestrator. He has collaborated with acclaimed composers such as John Williams, James Newton Howard, Danny Elfman and Alexandre Desplat.-Background:...
, and French film composer, Alexandre Desplat
Alexandre Desplat
Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat is a French film composer. He has received four Academy Award nominations, five BAFTA nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, winning a Golden Globe for his work on The Painted Veil in 2006, and two Grammy nominations. In 2011, Desplat won his first British...
. Desplat wrote a piece of music for My Week with Marilyn titled "Marilyn's Theme", which Pope adapted into his score. Pianist Lang Lang
Lang Lang (pianist)
Lang Lang , born June 14, 1982, in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, is a Chinese concert pianist, currently residing in New York, who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is increasingly well known around the world for his concert performances,...
is a featured performer on several of Pope and Desplat's compositions. Williams also features on the soundtrack singing "I Found A Dream", "That Old Black Magic" and a medley of "When Love Goes Wrong, Nothing Goes Right" and "Heat Wave
Heat Wave (song)
"Heat Wave" is a popular song. It was written by Irving Berlin for the 1933 musical As Thousands Cheer, and introduced in the show by Ethel Waters....
". Other songs include "Autumn Leaves
Autumn Leaves (song)
"Autumn Leaves" is a much-recorded popular song. Originally it was a 1945 French song "Les Feuilles mortes" with music by Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert. Yves Montand introduced "Les feuilles mortes" in 1946 in the film Les Portes de la Nuit...
" and "Memories Are Made of This
Memories Are Made of This
"Memories Are Made of This" is a popular song written by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller in 1955.-History:The most popular version of the song was recorded by Dean Martin. It reached #1 on the Billboard chart for six weeks in 1956, and became his biggest hit...
". The soundtrack was released digitally on 1 November 2011.
Release
The first trailer for the film was introduced by Harvey Weinstein during the 2011 Cannes Film Festival2011 Cannes Film Festival
The 64th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 11 to May 22, 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition...
. It was officially released on 6 October 2011. My Week with Marilyn had its world premiere on 9 October 2011 at the 49th New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
. The film was shown at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Mill Valley Film Festival
The Mill Valley Film Festival is an annual, non-competitive film festival presented by the California Film Institute. Known as a filmmakers’ festival, the annual Mill Valley Film Festival offers a non-competitive environment for exhibiting independent and world cinema.Founded in 1978 by MVFF...
two days later and it was then added to the lineups of the Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to provide a forum for independent filmmakers from around the world to express their vision. The Festival is traditionally held for five days in mid-October in theatre venues from Montauk to Southampton and attracts roughly 15,000 visitors annually...
and the 26th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. My Week with Marilyn was the centerpiece presentation at the 47th Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
and it was shown at the Wooburn Festival in High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
on 17 October. It was later screened at the Philadelphia Film Festival
Philadelphia Film Festival
The Philadelphia Film Festival is held annually in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Until 2009 it was generally held during the first weeks of April....
and AFI Fest
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
.
My Week with Marilyn was released on 25 November in the United Kingdom. The film was originally scheduled to be released on 4 November in the United States, but shortly after its premiere at the New York Film Festival, The Weinstein Company moved the release date to 23 November. The film opened in a limited release in 73 markets and 244 theaters.
Reception
The film has received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 82% of 122 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average
Average
In mathematics, an average, or central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" value of the data set. Average is one form of central tendency. Not all central tendencies should be considered definitions of average....
of 7.1 out of 10. According to the site's summary of the critical consensus, "Michelle Williams shines in My Week with Marilyn, capturing the magnetism and vulnerability of Marilyn Monroe." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a score of 1–100 to individual film reviews, gives the film an average rating of 65 based on 36 reviews. David Rooney from The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
praised Williams' performance and said she nailed Monroe's vocal style. Rooney also praised Redmayne as Clark, saying his scenes with Williams were captivating. However, Rooney went on to say "Fault lies with both Hodges’ workmanlike script and Curtis' failure to excavate much psychological depth." He added My Week with Marilyn is starchy and short on perspective, making it "superficial showbiz pageantry." Ronnie Scheib of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
said My Week with Marilyn "flits uneasily between arch drawing-room comedy and foreshadowed tragedy" and is too stagily directed by Curtis, who lines up the characters with "no attention to spatial logic or rhythmic flow." Scheib added the film coasts on Williams' performance, while the story feels like it has been ripped from film fan magazines of the time.
Adam Green of Vogue said the film does not quite reach "the high drama and urgency of a period piece like The King's Speech", but it does evoke a vanished era in filmmaking. Green added Williams is the main attraction and she brings Monroe to life "with heartbreaking delicacy and precision without resorting to impersonation or cliché." Regina Weinreich
Regina Weinreich
Regina Weinreich is a writer, journalist, teacher, and scholar of the artists of the Beat Generation.Her work includes the documentary Paul Bowles: The Complete Outsider, books entitled The Beat Generation: An American Dream, Kerouac's Spontaneous Poetics, Kerouac's Book of Haikus, and her blog...
of The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
called My Week with Marilyn a "gem" and said the story "manages to convey so much of Marilyn, particularly her child-like vulnerability, her insecurity as an actress, her natural charm and talents. While we have seen Michelle Williams tap dance and heard her sing before -- she was superb in last year's Blue Valentine
Blue Valentine
Blue Valentine is an album by Tom Waits, first released in 1978 on Asylum. The woman pictured with Waits on the back cover is Rickie Lee Jones, another singer/songwriter with whom he was having a relationship at the time....
-- her moves and voice as Marilyn evoke the subject's understated, magnetic performances." Weinreich went on to praise the rest of the cast, including Redmayne, Branagh and Dench, saying they are "especially good." A writer for indieWire
IndieWire
indieWIRE is a daily news site for the independent film community. It covers indie, documentary and foreign language films, as well industry news, film festival reports, filmmaker interviews and movie reviews...
said My Week with Marilyn is like a "superficial Lifetime made for TV-movie." The writer went on to say the film is not terrible, but there is "very little meat on the bone." They added the film has a terrific cast who do their best with an average script. Robbie Collin, writing for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
gave the film three out of five stars and said "Michelle Williams makes a mesmeric Monroe in My Week With Marilyn, but the film falls disappointingly short on boop-boop-be-doo."
The Miami Herald's Rene Rodriguez gave the film three out of four stars. He said "One of the chief pleasures of My Week with Marilyn — which should not be approached as anything other than fluffy entertainment — is watching Williams bring to life Monroe's inner demons and her movie-star allure with equal aplomb." The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
's film critic David Denby
David Denby (film critic)
David Denby is an American journalist, best known as a film critic for The New Yorker magazine.-Background and education:Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B.A...
also praised Williams' performance as Monroe, saying "In My Week with Marilyn, Williams makes the star come alive. She has Monroe's walk, the easy, swivelling neck, the face that responds to everything like a flower swaying in the breeze. Most important, she has the sexual sweetness and the hurt, lost look that shifts, in a flash, into resistance and tears." The critic called the film "charming and touching" and said it is expertly made. Writing for Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Mary Pols called My Week with Marilyn "nothing more than a lively confection." Pols went on to say "Williams locates a central truth, the contradictory allure of this utterly impossible woman — mercurial, vain, foolish, but also intelligent in some very primal way and achingly vulnerable." Upon giving the film three and a half out of four stars, critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
said "What matters is the performance by Michelle Williams. She evokes so many Marilyns, public and private, real and make-believe. We didn't know Monroe, but we believe she must have been something like this. We're probably looking at one of this year's Oscar nominees."
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with A.O. Scott. She was formerly a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice. She has written for a variety of publications, including Film Comment and...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
thought Branagh was miscast as Olivier, but she said he made up for that with "his crisp, at times clipped, enunciation and a physical performance that gives Olivier enough vitality so that when, early in, the character sweeps into his production office with his wife, Vivien Leigh (Julia Ormond, a wan placeholder for the original), he dazzles Clark and jolts this slow-stirring movie awake." Of Williams, the film critic said she "tries her best, and sometimes that's almost enough." Dargis said the main problem is with Hodges' script, which "offers a catalog of Monroe stereotypes." Stella Papamichael of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
gave the film four out of five stars and she praised many of the cast's performances. Papamichael added "While you won't learn anything new about Marilyn Monroe, you can revel in the silky feel of nostalgia." Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazine's Angie Errigo gave My Week with Marilyn three out of five stars and she said "At moments hilarious and others touching, it's a sweet, slight affair, more pretty pageant than pithy biographical drama. Expect awards nominations to stack up for Williams and Branagh."
For her performances in My Week with Marilyn, Meek's Cutoff
Meek's Cutoff
Meek's Cutoff is a 2010 western film directed by Kelly Reichardt. The film was shown in competition at the 67th Venice International Film Festival...
and Take This Waltz
Take This Waltz (film)
Take This Waltz is a Canadian comedy-drama film, released in 2011.The second full length film directed by Sarah Polley, the film's cast includes Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, Luke Kirby, Jennifer Podemski, Raoul Bhaneja, Albert Howell, Diane Flacks and Diane D'Aquila.-Film...
, Williams was given the Best Actress award at the 2011 Hollywood Film Festival
Hollywood Film Festival
The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual Film festival which is located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Festival was established in 1997 by Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington....
. On 25 November 2011, it was announced Williams would receive the 2012 Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award from the Palm Springs International Film Festival
Palm Springs International Film Festival
Palm Springs International Film Festival is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. It was started in 1989 and is held annually in January...
in recognition of her performance in My Week with Marilyn. Four days later, Williams was nominated for Best Female Lead
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
The Film Independent's Spirit Award for Best Female Lead is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
at the Independent Spirit Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
.