My Week with Marilyn

Name: My Week with Marilyn
Genre: Drama
Released: November 23, 2011
Duration: 99 min
Rating: 65

2011

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 186 Ratings

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7.8

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7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 186 Ratings

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MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

Movie Details & Credits

The Weinstein Company | Release Date: November 23, 2011

Summary: In the early summer of 1956, 23 year-old Colin Clark, just down from Oxford and determined to make his way in the film business, worked as a lowly assistant on the set of ‘The Prince and the Showgirl’. The film that famously united Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe, who was also on honeymoon with her new husband, the playwrightIn the early summer of 1956, 23 year-old Colin Clark, just down from Oxford and determined to make his way in the film business, worked as a lowly assistant on the set of ‘The Prince and the Showgirl’. The film that famously united Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe, who was also on honeymoon with her new husband, the playwright Aurthur Miller. Nearly 40 years on, his diary account The Prince, the Showgirl and Me was published, but one week was missing and this was published some years later as My Week with Marilyn – this is the story of that week. When Arthur Miller leaves England, the coast is clear for Colin to introduce Marilyn to some of the pleasures of British life; an idyllic week in which he escorted a Monroe desperate to get away from her retinue of Hollywood hangers-on and the pressures of work. (The Weinstein Company)… Expand

Director: Simon Curtis

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 99 min

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Awards & Rankings

89	#89 Most Discussed Movie of 2011

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Critic Reviews

100

San Francisco Chronicle - Mick LaSalle

Nov 22, 2011

Michelle Williams doesn't just survive. Called upon to glow, she glows. Her performance doesn't solve all the riddles of that personality; none could, and it's for the best that Williams doesn't try. Read full review

Tampa Bay Times - Steve Persall

Dec 26, 2011

This is a slight movie, but it's Williams' all the way (possibly to an Oscar nod) while the rest of the cast supports her well. Read full review

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) - Rick Groen

Nov 30, 2011

The acting is superb, the settings are beautifully recreated, the dialogue crackles with occasional wit, but where's the juice? Although lovely to gaze upon, the whole thing feels a bit precious and porcelain, more teapot than sexpot. Read full review

Time - Mary Pols

Nov 23, 2011

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. Read full review

Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum

Nov 23, 2011

Michelle Williams plays Monroe, and she's a wonder. Working opposite a suitably florid Kenneth Branagh as that high thespian Sir Larry. Read full review

Boston Globe - Ty Burr

Nov 22, 2011

The point of "My Week'' appears to be that Colin is the one person in Monroe's life who isn't using her, but if squeezing two books and a movie out of one brief encounter isn't exploitation, I don't know what is. Read full review

Slant Magazine - Jaime N. Christley

Oct 12, 2011

Only the star performances in My Week with Marilyn, cartoonish as they are, make seeing the film worth the effort. Read full review

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User Reviews

nameless

Nov 25, 2011

Excellent. The editing is wonderful, it gets you into the story before the characters take over. Michelle Williams nails the performance, just when you start to see the actress you slip right back into seeing Marilyn. The layers she has to play is amazing, not like the superficial cartoonExcellent. The editing is wonderful, it gets you into the story before the characters take over. Michelle Williams nails the performance, just when you start to see the actress you slip right back into seeing Marilyn. The layers she has to play is amazing, not like the superficial cartoon that Kate Blanchett did of Katherine Hepburn (Aaarruggh). I was caught up in the movie for the full time (also not something I can say for the poorly edited Hugo). If you want to be taken to another time and place and believe it, this is the one. You also get the added benefit of understanding how this characters interacted without the "vengence" factor when characters get angry at one another in films today. The foreshadowing is subtle but clear yet you don't have clue how people will react.… Expand

6 of 8 users found this helpful62

Nick5414

Dec 12, 2011

Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe is a wonder !

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

txrangersfan72

Jan 22, 2012

It will be a race to the Oscars this year as Michelle Williams' portrayal of Marilyn Monroe is neck-and-neck with Meryl Streep's portrayal of Margaret Thatcher. What makes both of their performances amazing is that they don't just LOOK like the people whom they are portraying, but theyIt will be a race to the Oscars this year as Michelle Williams' portrayal of Marilyn Monroe is neck-and-neck with Meryl Streep's portrayal of Margaret Thatcher. What makes both of their performances amazing is that they don't just LOOK like the people whom they are portraying, but they capture the absolute essence, making the viewer believe wholeheartedly that they ARE the person, not just acting the part. Williams doesn't just doll herself up to look like Marilyn. That alone was quite a feat since Michelle Williams is structurally unlike Marilyn. I was very impressed with the makeup and wardrobe. However, what sets her apart as an extraordinary portrayal of Marilyn is how stunning, and I'm truly understating it, of a job Williams does evoking the tortured soul of this woman. I've read a lot about Marilyn over the years and knew about much of the history discussed in this movie, but I've never had a sense of how she was able to be this darling on the screen and for the public while also being so troubled in the background. I absolutely loved watching how Kenneth Branagh's Sir Laurence Olivier struggled with realizing her brilliance, yet making sure he wasn't captured in the web she clearly likes to weave around those who fall prey to her. For a woman who proclaimed to not be loved by her parents or by her many husbands, thus dramatizing and victimizing herself, she creates an air of powerlessness, but those closest to her, especially the men who fall helplessly in love with her, she has all the power in the world. While Marilyn's story has always been told from a sad perspective, the reality shown here, and what seems very natural considering her past and condition, is that Marilyn didn't understand what real love was. No father. An insane mother. A very false sense of love and admiration from Hollywood and her fans. Husbands that wanted her because she was Marilyn. And, in this story, Milton and Colin, two in this movie of probably countless men who succumbed to her charms and story, wanting to care for, love and help her, which she allows, until she doesn't need them anymore. The trail behind her of broken hearts, to which she gives very little thought. The performances by all are amazing in this movie. In the end, Michelle Williams may have the edge over Meryl in the Oscar race simply because the strength of the story and supporting performances are far greater.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TheMudDoctor

Jan 16, 2012

http://themuddoctor.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-week-with-marilyn.html
Michelle Williams, perhaps the finest actress working today, gives a stunning performance here and demystifies the legend of Marilyn Monroe, making her painfully human. If only the rest of this film was up to her level.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

NedRyerson1

Feb 24, 2012

My Week with Marylin is an amazing movie because it shows that everyone, no matter fame, money or beauty, it is human and it suffers like one, passing through sorrows and glories. The story is about a young man who wants to create his own path in life and because he loves movies, he will tryMy Week with Marylin is an amazing movie because it shows that everyone, no matter fame, money or beauty, it is human and it suffers like one, passing through sorrows and glories. The story is about a young man who wants to create his own path in life and because he loves movies, he will try his hand in the film industry. In his first job, he will met Marylin Monroe, and will fall in love despite that everyone tell him to do not get involve to deeply because Marylin will use him and then broke his heart. In this point is when this picture becomes like a chronicle of a death foretold.
Another interesting topic of My Week with Marylin is the relation that appear between the female protagonist and the director of the movie (a film inside a film), Laurence Olivier. He fells intimidated by the diva, because Larry is also famous but no one pays attention or wants to take care of him. Then we see the irony when comparing Marylin with Laurence: She is a star that wants to become an actress; and he is an actor who wants to become a star.
This movie has an original idea, a beautiful script and performances that leave you open-mouthed; specially the ones of Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

wishmaster

Mar 3, 2012

A good movie that borders on the regular, not momorable but entertaining. Michelle Williams gives us another excellent interpretation as to Branaght..

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Broyax

Apr 19, 2017

Mon point de vue sera partial et ne fera certainement pas la part des choses : il faut arrêter avec cette idolâtrie de Marilyn Monroe qui n'était qu'une bécasse parmi tant d'autres dont le seul ou les seuls "talents" consistaient à tortiller du croupion et des nichons et à couiner mollementMon point de vue sera partial et ne fera certainement pas la part des choses : il faut arrêter avec cette idolâtrie de Marilyn Monroe qui n'était qu'une bécasse parmi tant d'autres dont le seul ou les seuls "talents" consistaient à tortiller du croupion et des nichons et à couiner mollement d'une voix de femme-enfant immature quelques ritournelles périmenazes.

Elle n'a jamais été une bonne actrice, ni une actrice tout court d'ailleurs. Et sa vie n'était pas non plus "exceptionnelle" ou dramatiquement dramatique : elle était simplement minable, car Dickens et Hugo ont déjà tout inventé il y a bien longtemps...

Ainsi, même si ce film n'est qu'un témoignage à l'instant "t" (une semaine...) du tournage avec la cruche geignarde, imbibée et souvent abrutie par les médocs (déjà...) il se révèle aussi ennuyeux que la star défunte elle-même et tout aussi dérisoire et superficiel. L'actrice employée a beau se démener, elle se révèle aussi vide que sa blondeur incarnée : je suppose alors que l'objectif est "atteint" d'une certaine façon ! Le film reste très nettement complaisant et flotte à demeure dans la flagornerie éhontée à la fois de la star et de son public qui a déifié une grue irrécupérable de bêtise.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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