My Week with Marilyn
I thought Eddie Redmayne wasn’t so bad. I thought Michelle Williams’ Marilyn Monroe was absolutely stunning. And finally, I thought that the film is giving Marilyn Monroe more depth than she probably deserved. You read so many things about Marilyn Monroe that I fear it destroys the film because everybody and their mother seems to have strong opinions on her. Truth to be told, it is not really that interesting as to who she really was. Just because somebody is a big star doesn’t necessarily make them all that much more interesting than, say, the cashier at your supermarket next door.
To me, Marilyn Monroe has never been a legend. Come on she’s just an actress! I really liked her in “Some like it hot” and I find her looks quite fascinating. After all, she was the first actress I have ever known by name, just like Hitchcock was the first director I have ever known. Yet Marilyn Monroe is a product of her time – in today’s ultraskinny world, her strangely shaped eyes and huge bottom would never have been that successful. I was disturbed to see people in the telling her that she is “the greatest actress in the world” because she isn’t and even more so when I read reviews in which some New York Times person complains that Michelle Williams’s breasts are not rocket-like enough. There is a reason why the AFI ranked her behind Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo – every single one of which is a better actress than her. She eclipses them with her fame, but that’s it.
Having Marilyn Monroe’s strangely enlarged reputation in mind, it is impossible to see the film as just a romance story between a whimsical actress and some young boy. It is and must be a film about Marilyn Monroe because of said reputation. Nevertheless, I had some inherent interest in the film. First of all, Michelle Williams’ portrayal of the Monroe look and talk and walk is absolutely gorgeous. It makes the Marilyn Monroe look so distinguishable because she is exactly what Michelle Williams normally is not. Second, and most importantly, Marilyn Monroe is not the only person in the world who perceives herself to be in the center of the world. Her low self-esteem coupled with the fear of failing makes her strangely likable and every one of her nervous attacks understandable. She longs to be loved even though she is uncapable of loving neither herself nor anyone else, and fears to be left alone even though so many people are surrounding her at all times. There is even a little bit more to that – I read awhile ago that Marilyn Monroe liked to read, and probably also liked to learn. Her capability may be limited, but she probably tried her hardest to make a mark as a person, not just as a sex object. This is nicely reflected in the biggest confrontation Marilyn Monroe has with Laurence Olivier in the film, in which he says something along the lines of “All you do is looking sexy.” I’d be appalled too. I don’t think the film portrayed her as a one-sided character (nor does it do so for anybody else except the young boy) and I was able to identify with all of them. Quite a feat considering how not a single character is really likable.
I don’t think I would place this film onto any favorite film list but it actually deeply impressed me. I’m not sure if “The Prince and the Showgirl” is worth a look, but I am quite curious about it now.