Williams' glowing transfiguration to Monroe will leave spell-bound throughout the whole movie and that alone is enough reason to watch and recommend the movie.
The Good
- spell-binding performance by Michelle Williams
- perfectly cast, with Redmayne, Caine, Brannagh, Dench, and Watson doing solid work all the while allowing Williams to completely shine
The Bad
- would need you to suspend your disbelief in the events that happens (as this is a memoir of Colin Clark), lest, take it as a fan fiction of sorts.
- though is pleasurable to watch, does not completely achieve a climax
Synopsis
Colin Clark, 23, applies to be a production assistant in Olivier's production of The Prince and the Showgirl. During the course of things, Olivier and Monroe's professional relationship are marred by Monroe's stage-fright and Olivier's impatience. Feeling a need to help Monroe, Clark "takes sides" with Monroe and in the process, spends a flirtatious week with her. The movie recounts that week.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
My reaction when Williams was cast as Monroe was apprehensive. Sure she's blonde, American, a female, and has full lips, but that's about it. Williams is a good actress, but a bit too far from looking like Monroe, much more carrying her charm and allure. This is me coming from watching her in "Blue Valentine" where she played a sappy housewife who couldn't seem to attract even the flies. And remember how pathetic the housewife she played in Brokeback Mountain was? That, plus the fact that if anything, Williams does not in any bit look like Monroe. But alas! Williams manages the impossible: she recalls Monroe from the dead and becomes her! Complete from accent, diction, speech, gait, and allure. She even managed to be really sexy, though not Monroe-sexy. That transformation alone got me hooked throughout the movie's 1 hour and 40 running time. I believed it was Monroe I was watching the while time.
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| Seems legit |
Whose Side are You On?
Marilyn explains the kind of behavior that Monroe brings to the set, which is consistent with the literature written about it: habitually late, difficult to work with, struck with stage-fright; albeit, I find it all too condensed that one will have to imagine how she became lovable, how she became the most famous woman on Earth. The movie does not bother to explain it in length, but assumes you have a basic knowledge about Monroe before you jumped in to watch the movie.
The script is fair enough, with Williams squeezing the most potential out of it. Some may bemoan the lack of depth, but it didn't really bother me as I am taking this as a biopic for which witty dialog do not really suffice or happen often, but when they do, they do. What really brings the work to life is Williams' channeling Monroe into being. It is impossible to imagine anyone playing the role. As mentioned above, she got everything spot-on, from the raspy, breathy speech pattern to the flirtatious gestures. She brings Monroe to full life when she performs a dance routine number that Monroe played on The Prince and the Showgirl. Branagh's and Dench's performance of Olivier and Thorndike were laudable, too, while Redmayne, albeit outshone by Williams, did relatively well, too.
Costume and set design were also great and add to authenticity of the movie, while the pacing is fluid and simple, which helps a lot to enjoy the movie. There are great sparks of comedy in the movie and like most of Marilyn movies, this one is light, with the darker areas mostly reflecting on Monroe's inability to cope up with her stage-fright and being near impossible to work with. It is however impossible to decide which part of the film is the climax. For most of it, the film goes on to become delightful that there is no discernible climax, but rather a series of playful scenes during the whole filming, guided by Curtis' tight direction.
The script is fair enough, with Williams squeezing the most potential out of it. Some may bemoan the lack of depth, but it didn't really bother me as I am taking this as a biopic for which witty dialog do not really suffice or happen often, but when they do, they do. What really brings the work to life is Williams' channeling Monroe into being. It is impossible to imagine anyone playing the role. As mentioned above, she got everything spot-on, from the raspy, breathy speech pattern to the flirtatious gestures. She brings Monroe to full life when she performs a dance routine number that Monroe played on The Prince and the Showgirl. Branagh's and Dench's performance of Olivier and Thorndike were laudable, too, while Redmayne, albeit outshone by Williams, did relatively well, too.
Costume and set design were also great and add to authenticity of the movie, while the pacing is fluid and simple, which helps a lot to enjoy the movie. There are great sparks of comedy in the movie and like most of Marilyn movies, this one is light, with the darker areas mostly reflecting on Monroe's inability to cope up with her stage-fright and being near impossible to work with. It is however impossible to decide which part of the film is the climax. For most of it, the film goes on to become delightful that there is no discernible climax, but rather a series of playful scenes during the whole filming, guided by Curtis' tight direction.
My verdict:
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