Yes, No, Maybe So: "My Week With Marilyn"
Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 12:46AM Visual information was a long time coming with My Week With Marilyn, but now at last the trailer for the film has arrived giving us a peek at Michelle Williams as Hollywood's most famous blonde bombshell and the story of a diversion with a reporter during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl.
Dougray Scott and Michelle Williams as Mr & Mrs Arthur Miller
In the trailer we see lots of Michelle as Marilyn and a pissy Sir Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier. Judi Dench seems starstruck, Dominic Cooper annoyed, and Eddie Redmayne appropriately in over his head as the young man she takes up with. Let's break it down. Do we wanna see it and why?
Breakdown and full trailer after the jump.
YES
- After Blue Valentine, Meek's Cutoff, Wendy & Lucy and Brokeback Mountain,we know Michelle Williams can do depression better than just about anyone (which is to say with lots of range and fascination rather than a dull droning "me sad") but won't it be nice to see her stretch to play someone more bipolar... someone with effervescence?
- Branagh meets Olivier sounds like a match made in cinema heaven, even if you aren't fans of either.
- Actually the whole cast has promise.
- Should be fun to see bits of or allusions to scenes from The Prince and the Showgirl. Especially if you like pictures about showbiz. (Duh, I do.)
NO
- "I wouldn't buy the little girl lost act if I were you"... Any chance this movie will take its own advice. Because with Marilyn Monroe there's always the danger of been there done that... nobody having anything new to say about her. So many films have been made about her or used her legend for effect.
All people ever see is Marilyn Monroe."
MAYBE SO
- What are the chances we could get a moving and multi-layered meta movie about an actress doing another actress who was always doing herself? "Shall I do her?" Performed identity is an inherently fascinating thing but let's not get carried away. It's not as if Charlie Kauffman wrote it.
- Maybe I'm too familiar with Marilyn Monroe's voice but I'm not quite understanding what Michelle Williams is doing with it. Or if she's just not getting it. I normally don't need mimicry but with someone so familiar it can be distracting if it's not perfect. And I know that Oscar attention isn't a total barometer of quality (especially with acting) but the AMPAS voters need mimicry a lot more than I do. If it's not right won't they shun it?
- Glossy glossy glossy. Will it feel like a piece of Hollywood lore that's been perfectly preserved in amber or like a giant commercial for itself?
Here's the full trailer..
Are you a Yes No Maybe So?
But more specifically, divvy it up by actors, won't you? This one's all about the "star" and thus the stars. If you're a Marilyn fan, how do you feel about seeing her portrayed again?
Reader Comments (37)
I'm convinced that this is a thankless role. No matter Williams did with this, people wouldn't be happy. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out
Yes for me. Not an enthusiastic yes, but i'm willing to give it a look. Honestly, i'm just glad that i got to see the trailer because i didn't have the slightest clue on how it was all going to turn out.
I fully trust Michelle Williams even if that voice is a bit odd and she does look a tad bit strange to me...like she's had Botox or heavy makeup or something. I'm more interested in how Emma Watson manages. She flip-flopped in quality in the HP films and i have to admit, i'm very curious about how Watson and the rest of the trio will manage post-Potter. I'm still convinced Radcliffe has the most promise, but i wouldn't mind Watson proving me wrong.
I love Michelle Williams but I don't see her as Marilyn Monroe in the trailer (or/and the publicity photos) :/ I see MW and not MM, Marilyn demanded the spotlight wherever she was, I don't see the effervescence, the only time I found the resemblance, was in the scene in which she is wearing the iconic dress of 'The Prince and the Showgirl'. And it's weird because this is the trailer, this is the place where they put all the character gestures and all that stuff, but still, I am a Yes :)
I'm actually really looking forward to this. I think Williams will play Monroe very well, and I do like a cast a great deal. Big Yes from me.
This looks like a TV movie of the week. Michelle Williams is at a loss as to how the voluptuous Monroe looked, talked, walked and made us all melt at the sight of her.
I was a yes before the trailer and a HELL YES after the trailer. Yes, Williams voice is a bit distracting but I think it's something I'll get used to as I watch the film. Plus I like that she isn't doing direct mimicry.
I'm saying yes because of your last reason: the cinematography for the 'Prince and Showgirl' scenes are going to look amazing and classic-like. Williams not being able to mimic Monroe is also a big worry but she matches the legend's physical presence.
I feel like this movie would've been better with an unknown actress, one whose image we're not as keenly familiar with.
Still, parts of it look great and I'm just glad Jonathan Rhys Myers is too old for this role.
You're making too much out of the voice thing. Think Diana Ross in Lady Sings The Blues. She doesn't look or sound a thing like the real life person she's portraying but the performance works within the limitations of the piece. This trailer has me excited for the film.
I'm still confused by Michelle Williams being cast as Marilyn Monroe--she seems so humorless. Would it be too literal to wish that Christina Hendricks was cast in the role? The reviews are going to have to be great to convince me to see it, so put me down as a MAYBE.
Yes: the trailer is really good even if it shows that the story is more conventional than I expected.
No: Michelle Williams. I just don't see her, or rather I see her playing (physically she reminds me of a younger Kim Bassinger more than Marilyn).
I still think Wynona in a wig would've been great, she can show vulnerability and effervescence better, but her time is over. I absolutely adore Williams in Blue Valentine, but I think she's miscast here. That final shot at the end of the trailer was almost parodic.
The biopic thing + movie star. I'm not into biopics particularly about very well-known people.
Maybe so: the rest of the cast, the period thing, the movies within movies part.
So, I'm willing to give it a go, to see if the movie lives up to the trailer.
Well, she does not SOUNDS like Monroe but she may capture the bipolarness of Monroe quite well, I think. I got to know the character after this trailer and wanted to learn more. Emma Watson looks interesting and Judi Dench is always a treat. Kenneth Branagd as Olivier is REALLY interesting. I think this will be an actors piece
I'll go and see anything Michelle Williams does these days; those who doubt her ability to be light and fun seems to be forgetting some of her earlier work, particularly 'Dick' with Kirsten Dunst.
I'm less worried about her performance than the Marilyn-identity stuff the movie is getting into. Ever since I read Sarah Churchwell's amazing book on Marilyn biographies and biopics, 'The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe', I've ben pretty difficult to sell on that 'poor little Norma Jean smothered by Marilyn' narrative that is the centre of every single retelling of her life. Everyone should go read it!
She just got the Hollywood Actress Award, which was awarded to Hilary Swank a few years ago, the year "Amelia" came out... that sums up everything. I think Viola Davis might compete in the Best Actress category now.
It doesn't work at all. Just what kelsy says: She is a fine actress, but absolutely humorless. I just can't see her.
But, Branagh, wow. He IS Olivier.
I know that I'm praising mimicry, but for this performamnce to work it needs mimicry AND somthing else. You can't have only the something else.
YES for Michelle. She is obviously not as alluring as Monroe but I think she captures her essence more in motion than she did in the pics we've been seeing, if that makes any sense.
MAYBE the voice is jthe first thing that stroke me as wrong, but on second thought It is one of those things you get used to if the performance is steady. I wouldn't like if she was mimickimg Monroe's voice in one scene and not in the next.
NO. I hate that they didn't show Julia Ormond as Vivien. It's one of the movie highlights for me! Also, don't you think that Emma Watson looked ugly? And she is some cute girl. maybe they are deglamorising her to make Michelle shine brighter?
In short I'M EXITED. Count me in!
Perhaps she avoided the breathy voice to make sure this performance didn't turn into camp, and mimicry is the quickest way to get to that point.
Nope. Looks like a Lifetime movie with better production values. Warning signs all over this thing.
This project never seemed promising to me. Other talented actresses ( and Williams is certainly an exceptional talent) have tried to do Marilyn - and with underwhelming results. Michelle Williams doesn't have - and can't seem to summon up - the sheer lushness that characterized Monroe's image and effect. They're telling us it's Marilyn - but it just looks like a day in the life of Dorothy Provine.
I I agree with the first post it's a thankless role. Anyone who's cast as Marilyn will get criticized and Michelle had detracters from the start. I still want to see it. The voice isn't that much of a deal with me either.
This has all the embellishments of a Miramax/ Weinstein production except for the lead.
I like (don't) love the Williams performances because she's very, very good at put the extra in extraordinary otherwise forgettable supporting/ character roles (even when she's in the lead). But from the trailer it doesn't feel like she sufficient shimmer to pull off Marilyn.
The real Marilyn seemed like she was 13 going on 50. In the trailer Williams seems like she's 13 going on 17.
Frankly, it'd I'd prefer to see Madonna bring what she did with Evita into role, for it's meta value if it's successful or for the campy 2-for-1 memorabilia value if it flops. Either way it could be brilliant.
Speaking of meta whenever Toby Jones pops up in the trailer I yearned for a Marilyn/ Capote episode, even if its anachronistic for him to have been in London for this particular shoot.
Are you going to do a yes, no, maybe so for "The Lady"?
I'll give it a look barring some truly atrocious reviews, but this isn't something that's necessarily on my must-see list.
Amen to Kelsy (re: Christina Hendricks -- why, God, why not?!), and to Seisgrados on the Vivien obs. (now THAT is a bipolar character ripe for cinematic interpretation/revisiting).
P.S. Anyone remember Mira Sorvino's mid-90's rendition on Marilyn in that HBO biopic? If memory serves, she nailed the twinkle and vocal inflections, but nevertheless got dinged for voluptuousness (or lack thereof).
It's interesting that none of the cast playing well known actors seem to have gone for mimicry - not Williams not Branagh not Dench - surely this was a deliberate directorial decision. For them to engage in mimicry may have created a barrier between them and the rest of the cast playing non actors which could have been insurmountable - think Banchett opposite Di Caprio in the Aviator- it always seemed to me that they were in 2 very different movies even when sharing scenes.
I'm a yes after watching the trailer. It seems deeper and not as light as I previously thought and I think it's an interesting period to focus on in Marylin's life.
And the trailer for Young Adult has arrived and looks good http://www.slashfilm.com/young-adult-trailer-jason-reitman/?utm_source=Movie+Magic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+slashfilm+%28%2FFilm%29
This looks soooo mediocre. Like Cat's Meow mediocre. Some things will be fine, so things will be bad. When it is Marilyn, you have to mimic a lot of things correctly - the voice, the boobs, etc. The only thing MW gets right is the color of the hair. Completely wrong choice of actress.
Well, Marilyn's "movie voice" wasn't her real voice. Listen to this interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG02m594kmY. I think this is meant to be more of an intimate portrait, so I'm glad Williams didn't go over the top with it.
Kind of wish Williams had gained a little more weight for the role but whatever..
Michelle said in an interview that she tried to gain weight to convey Monroe's curvyness but all the fat went to her face, so she decided to lose it and use padded dresses in hips and bosom instead.
Totally on board. She may not be perfect as Marilyn, but she's almost perfect as an actress, so whatever she does, I'm gonna check it out. I don't think the editing of the trailer was done very well, so I hope it will surprise us all when the real film is released. Definitely will see this when it comes out.
Absolutely yes. How I love a frothy show-biz story. I don't care if Williams is like Monroe or not. As long as she is an American screen goddess in London, that's good enough for me. I like Williams, and I'm longing for a full-length part for Eddie Redmayne, and I think their scenes together will be satisfyingly well-acted. If there's some terrific mimicry from Branagh and Dench, so much the better.
And yes, Emma Watson did look strange in the trailer, like Harriet Walter. How did that happen?
With the possible exception of Branagh (and nice period detail) this looks like a definite NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Williams is so very lacking in charisma/screen presence which was the defining essence of Marilyn Monroe...
I'm not sure if Michelle Williams has tapped into Marilyn's vivaciousness fully, but the story is interesting enough to draw me in. And I didn't know Eddie Redmayne was in this! Tony winner in the house! His role looks to be more substantial than Kenneth Branagh's. Yes to the trailer for me.
It does look interesting and good, but... if it's a movie based on Monroe it would be nice to have Monroe somehow channeled. Williams doesn't look, sound, act or even seem to be giving an essence of Monroe, other than in some of the posed "looks" that mimic famous photos of her. W
No. This is an impossible role. Marilyn Monroe was absolutely beautiful, and MW is very pretty but not beautiful. That's a big problem right there.
I bet Christina Hendricks would have killed it in this role. Michelle Williams doesn't have that spark to me. But it is only a trailer. A tentative maybe.