“My Week With Marilyn”: Reviews
I saw “My Week with Marilyn” yesterday at a New York Film Festival screening. My response is close to that of Indiewire, which says this story of Marilyn Monroe making “The Prince and the Showgirl” in England has charm but that Michelle Williams’ portrayal of Marilyn is airy and doesn’t dig deep enough. Others found the film more to their liking. That Williams isn’t better isn’t entirely her fault. When an actor plays a real-life character onscreen, he/she usually is playing an athlete or an artist or a monarch. Williams is a movie actress playing a movie star, and she was never going to measure up in a direct big-screen comparison to Monroe. The London actors who make up the supporting cast — Judi Dench as Sybil Thorndike, especially — fare better. I think the movie will do well with the “Masterpiece Theatre” crowd, and maybe Williams will score a Best Actress nom. But a win? No way.
