VENOM Review

There's always been this desire by a certain generation of Spider-Man fans to see the web-slinger's villain, Venom, portrayed on the big screen in the effortlessly cool yet terrifyingly fun way he was presented in both the comics and the nineties animated series that devoted an entire stretch of episodes to the Stan Lee and Avi Arad-created story titled "The Venom Saga". Venom's popularity has always been about little more than how "cool" the character looks as there is little else of actual depth to the character beyond the fact it's a sludge from space that requires a host to bond with for its survival. In the comics, Venom became most notable as one of Spider-Man's archenemies after Peter Parker realized the insidious nature of what was referred to as the "symbiote" and trashed the suit only for the symbiote to then join with a second host: Eddie Brock. In the animated series Brock was a well-meaning guy looking for his big break who just so happened to view Parker as a rival reporter. Needless to say, in joining with the symbiote and becoming Venom Brock inherited the alien's enhanced abilities and felt a power for the first time in his life he wasn't going to readily give up. So, one can see how-despite the rather artificial intrigues of the symbiote in and of itself that-once this liquid-like form joins with a human host who has their own personality and problems things might become more complicated and therefore more dramatically interesting, right? Well, consider that and then consider the fact director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Gangster Squad) and screenwriters Jeff Pinker, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel only have about half of those source material ideas to work with in order to create a full-length feature around the character. This is what 2018's Venom was tasked with and thus why it turns out to be a mostly forgettable B-monster movie made in the vein of Sam Raimi's original live-action Spider-Man, but with none of the fun or genuine thrills that movie packed in. It's a re-purposed Spider-Man origin story, but with a symbiote instead of a radioactive arachnid where the individual blessed and/or cursed with these powers has to figure out how to control them and then decide how to use them for good. Seriously-Venom, the symbiote, likes to bites heads off, but Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock is an out-and-out good guy with no shades of moral conflict leaving the film itself to not be the interesting anti-hero tale it billed itself to be, but instead feels like a recycled Spider-Man movie from an alternate universe where the symbiote was brought to a world where Peter Parker doesn't exist (at least for the time being) and the titular character becomes by default the hero of the story. In other unfortunate words, Venom adds nothing to these tropes audiences have seen countless times over the last two decades, but is all the worse for it due to the promise of being a real scoundrel's story.

New Trailer for VENOM Starring Tom Hardy

Sony has now released what is the second "official" trailer, but what is the third overall if you count that teaser trailer anyone unfamiliar with the fact a Venom movie was being made would still be unfamiliar with that fact after seeing that teaser. It's been difficult to be optimistic about a solo Venom movie since the get-go even with the casting of credible talents like Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Riz Ahmed. Sony was smart in waiting to release a new trailer that likely contains a lot of what the Comic-Con audience saw until after all the Comic-Con hype had mostly calmed down as this thing would have most certainly got lost in the shuffle among all the DC trailers (never thought I'd write that sentence). And while this latest and presumably final trailer for director Ruben Fleischer's (who hasn't made a solid film since his feature debut, but indeed made a hell of a debut with Zombieland) anti-hero movie is definitely the best one yet it's still hard to fully get behind this thing. Visually is where it seems to have the most trouble. The CGI in many places continues to look iffy and we can only hope this isn't the finished product, but given we're less than three months away from release it's difficult to not be skeptical. I'm not saying it looks X-Men Origins: Wolverine bad, but it definitely doesn't look convincing. We could have a similar situation to Green Lantern here where the unfinished effects in the trailer cause people to not show up for the finished product even if there is some improvement in the final product. There's also this hazy hue hanging over everything that makes the film look as if it were shot in 2002 which is to say the movie already looks dated and if your movie that features a completely CGI creature already looks dated before it comes out you might be in trouble. How some films can look so effortlessly real while relying on gobs of CG (see both Guardians of the Galaxy movies) while others seem to be limping to the finish line with their climactic computer generated battle (see Black Panther) I'm not sure, but this is a movie that needed more attention paid to the special effects than it did craft services and while I wasn't on set I'm willing to bet those spreads were more aesthetically pleasing. The story seems familiar enough if you know the arc of Eddie Brock and despite all my pessimism I still hope this turns out well-for all involved and for fans of the character, but I can't help but to feel the writing is on the wall. Venom also stars Woody Harrelson, Jenny Slate, Marcella Bragio, Michelle Lee, Scott Haze, Reid Scott, and opens October 5th, 2018.

ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD Review

Despite Christopher Plummer’s J.P. Gettty very clearly being the antagonist in director Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World the film also seems aware that this is very much a complex character that holds more substance and conflict than what might otherwise be optioned to be portrayed as the straight-up villain of the piece. That said, Scott will often times play to the dark comedy of how much of a penny-pincher the richest man in the history of the world was. Such is true when the director will set-up a scene with the intention of making the audience think one thing only to pull the rug out from under them a moment later; Getty not actually bargaining on the cost of the ransom, but rather on that of an otherwise invaluable painting for example. This technique emphasizes the relationship, the fondness, the affinity Getty has for his money in a movie that is about his refusal to fork over untold millions for something that might offer a greater relationship or something he has a greater fondness and a greater affinity for: his grandson. This again may make Plummer’s Getty out to sound like the obvious villain of All the Money in the World, but there are lessons to be learned-even from those who might not be the most sincere or honest people in the room. Getty might not have always even been the smartest person in the room at any given time for he himself says that any fool can “get” rich, but there is always a strategy or plan in place with Getty-an ability to read the room and/or any offer that came across his desk-that paints this portrait of a man who isn’t being let off the hook for his misplacement of priorities in life (it’s hard to read if the man might have even had any regrets in his final moments when it came to realizing all he had were things and no one in particular that cared about him that he could leave all of his things to), but rather is being conveyed just as he was which was anything but complicated-the man seemed to have a very strict code of conduct-but is all the more complicated for applying that code to every aspect of life. After all, Getty likely could have cared less what anyone thought of him given the power such wealth afforded him. This all brings the conversation back around to that golden rule of he who has the gold makes the rules and in the case of All the Money in the World and the narrative it encapsulates, Getty never takes his hands off the wheel. Thank God for Christopher Plummer.

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Review

The Greatest Showman, a wholly original musical from the mind of Jenny Bick (and ushered through the big studio system via Rob "Dreamgirls" Marshall) that tells the story of P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman), is a weirdly fascinating experience. There were instances throughout this brisk, but admittedly epic in ambition musical that at one point might feel alarmingly slight and free of any such substance while at other points-specifically during the musical numbers-it could feel akin to a religious experience. Crazy, right? Like most things, The Greatest Showman is a balancing act, but surprisingly-so is gauging one's reaction to the film. While the film, narratively, falls into refurbished clichés of countless other rags to riches stories it also doubles down on sweeping love stories, including large themes of inclusion and tolerance for those different than what society and humanity have deemed as normal and then, somehow matches all of this up with the terms of a musical that require dance numbers, songwriting, and lyrics that both explore these aforementioned themes and narratives as well as pushing as much forward. The viewer's balancing act comes from the then aforementioned disparate elements of those cliché story beats and the rather impressive soundtrack of songs as composed by La La Land composers Justin Paul and Benj Pasek. It's so strange, even now, twenty-four hours after having seen the film and I can admittedly understand every complaint I've since read about it; sharing many of them in regards to the boxing in of Barnum's story to that of a standard Hollywood storyline. And yet, there is this undeniable aspect of the film and all the joy and hope it provides in these moments that says something about the movie, the craft behind it, and the reaction they garner. First time feature director Michael Gracey (who has mostly worked in the visual effects departments on other projects) certainly seems overwhelmed by the scope of what he has taken on here as glimpsed in both how he captures and conveys the themes as well as a majority of the musical numbers, but seriously-by the end of nearly every number and, as a result, the film-what has just occurred on screen leaves you feeling so gleeful and allows the characters to be so endearing that it's impossible to deny the appeal of The Greatest Showman despite its many, many flaws. 

First Trailer for ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD

Ridley Scott is pushing 80. He will be 80 come the end of November which means by the time his second film of 2017 lands in theaters he will have hit that milestone of a birthday. That's right. Not only is Scott nearly older than most of your grandparents and making gigantic action/sci-fi movies, but he's making and releasing two big studio pictures a year (not to mention serving as a producer on multiple projects including the Blade Runner sequel). This second film, which looks as prestige as anything the filmmaker has produced since 2013's misfire The Counselor, follows the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother Gail (Michelle Williams) to convince his billionaire grandfather (Kevin Spacey) to pay the ransom. When Getty Sr. refuses, Gail attempts to sway him as her son’s captors become increasingly volatile and brutal. With her son’s life in the balance, Gail and Getty’s advisor (Mark Wahlberg) become unlikely allies in the race against time that ultimately reveals the true and lasting value of love over money. The film is based on the true story of the 1973 kidnapping of John Getty III with a screenplay by David Scarpa (2008's The Day the Earth Stood Still). I'm liking all of what I'm seeing here whether it be the fact that Scarpa is the sole screenwriter on the project no matter his previous work, that Scott apparently shot this earlier this year and that it's already ready for release, as well as the fact the cast is rather exceptional with word on the street being Spacey might just give Gary Oldman a run for his money in the Best Actor category as Oldman has been the early favorite for his role as Winston Churchill where he is equally as made-up as Spacey is here. That said, Spacey is hardly the center of attention here, but more the catalyst supporting character as Wahlberg and Williams look to be leading this with solid chemistry to spare. Wahlberg may not be the greatest actor of his generation, but it's hard to argue his versatility based on his output in 2017 alone which will now include this crime thriller, a Transformers movie, and a broad comedy in Daddy's Home 2. Needless to say, I look forward to how this plays and am hoping, as always, for the best. All the Money in the World also stars Romain Duris, Timothy Hutton, Andrew Buchan, Olivia Grant, Teresa Mahoney, Marco Leonardi and opens on on December 8th, 2017.

First Trailer for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Starring Hugh Jackman

I'm convinced there isn't anything Hugh Jackman can't do and it seems he will only continue to prove that idea correct this fall as he once again stars in a musical, but this time it's an original musical and one based around the life and times of P.T. Barnum, who Jackman will be portraying. The founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus, P.T. Barnum has come to be regarded as a brilliant promoter and the man who transformed the nature of commercial entertainment in the 19th century. While it is always interesting to see biopics around historical figures the general public isn't overly familiar with The Greatest Showman boasts multiple reasons audiences should be eager to see it. Besides the fact it stars Jackman, one of our most endearing movie stars today, it will also feature original songs by Justin Paul and Benj Pasek who penned the lyrics for songs featured in last year's La La Land. Strangely enough, 20th Century Fox has also placed a rookie feature director at the helm of this rather expansive and impressive looking movie in Michael Gracey. Gracey has worked in the visual effects department on a few films you might have heard of, but what made Fox and friends think he was the prefect choice for a big, broad original musical with huge stars and what is no doubt a healthy budget I'm not sure. Written by Jenny Bicks (Sex and the City) and Bill Condon (Beauty & the Beast (2017)) the film is apparently, "inspired by the imagination of P.T. Barnum," which only seems to indicate that this won't be wholly faithful to history as it actually were. Of course, if you get your history from the movies then you probably get about as much as you deserve, but nonetheless I'm excited for a big, original, musical production set around a figure who was an inherently entertaining and "showbusiness"-minded personality. As for the trailer itself I'd be lying if I said it was exactly what I expected as I expected something more in line with a combination of The Prestige (as far as the mythological tone and mysterious sense of wonder it might possess) and Water for Elephants (grand cinematography of a forgotten heyday), but while the film still looks to be visually dazzling the tone of the trailer is more upbeat and more modern than those expectations led to me to hope it would be. The point is still that I'm enormously intrigued as to how this will turn out and can't wait to experience it on a big screen. The Greatest Showman also stars Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and opens on Christmas Day.

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Review

Manchester by the Sea is a simple film made from a rather simple story. Meaning that the narrative is straight-forward and wholly based in the everyday lives the majority of us tend to lead. While these factors certainly make it more relatable than say, something along the lines of Allied, which is technically based in reality, but from which we are so far removed at this point it almost feels not of this world. All of this is to say that in our current plane of existence, Manchester by the Sea feels personal. It is a movie that creates an authentic environment from the world in which it exists. It feels lived-in and to that point we are not necessarily welcomed as much into this halfhearted existence that comes to be the subject of the film as we are wedged into the ongoing crap show that literally and figuratively seems to make up Lee Chandler's (Casey Affleck) life. I find it best to go into most films without much of an idea as to what exactly one might be getting themselves into and while it may be difficult to do that in terms of major blockbusters when living in a world that offers teasers for teaser trailers it is with movies such as Manchester by the Sea where this practice can be exercised to its full effect. And so, I went in more or less blind to what Manchester by the Sea carried in terms of narrative and with only the buzz it garnered out of its Sundance premiere earlier this year to signify that it was one worth watching. No matter if one knows the basic premise or not though, one thing is for certain: one cannot know the whole of the story the film is telling and it is in how director Kenneth Lonergan (Margaret) sets up the present scenario for our characters to operate in and then how he slowly peels back the layers of each of their pasts helping us to understand not only why and how these people have become who they are, but also giving us a glimpse of how far they can go and what the future might hold for them that makes the experience so simultaneously simple yet equally involving. It's a powerful piece of human drama to say the least with bare bones emotions bleeding through on the face of Affleck and every other actor in any significant portion of the movie. Lonergan, as a writer, is clearly interested in digging into the psyches of those who have dealt in tragedy and analyzing the different ways in which we as human beings deal with such surreal, life-altering events. With Manchester by the Sea the writer/director tackles permanent heartbreak to grandly moving results.

CERTAIN WOMEN Review

Certain Women is my introduction to the much celebrated writer/director Kelly Reichardt who has crafted such films as Wendy and Lucy and Night Moves. Reichardt is said to craft these methodically paced character studies that exist more for their introspective takes on the lives of their characters than anything resembling plot. Minimalist, if you will. Reichardt seemingly adapts many of her films from short stories or collections of short stories. And while I've yet to see any previous films from the filmmaker including her much heralded 2010 feature Meek's Cutoff I don't know that her latest necessarily urges me to go back and see what all the fuss is about. That said, Certain Women is certainly intriguing though the reasons for such interest fall more on the befuddling side of things rather than the promising. It is easy to sell the minimal approach as being more insightful and more telling simply out of the convenience of letting the audience do more of the heavy lifting, but some of the time keeping in line with the minimal approach is simply a substitute for there not being much to say in the first place. It's not hard to appreciate that Reichardt has approached these tales of three individual women in three different stages of their lives that only overlap in the most subtle of ways in an even more subtler fashion, but it is only by virtue of the focus shifting from one story to the next that the film doesn't become a complete and utter bore. And it would were it left in the hands of certain characters and beside the fact this is the point of those certain characters' profiles-documenting the monotony and lack of anything spectacular or interesting occurring in their lives-the film isn't ever able to come up with anything new or profound enough to say about the mundanity of daily life or the foibles that eventually bring us all around to the same level playing field as human beings to be noteworthy in its own right. I can understand and again even appreciate that this is very much a film that speaks to the complex and misunderstood experiences of the female in our male-driven society, but as a product that is intended to convince me of the discrepancies and double standards females deal with on a daily basis that males might not even consider I took away very little by way of enlightenment. There is a fine line between being understated and simply being uninteresting and unfortunately Certain Women skirts that line too often to fall on that minimal, but effective side of things.

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Review

Taking on anything that has occupied such a space in popular culture as massive as The Wizard of Oz is always a risk. When first hearing the news that Sam Raimi (the original Evil Dead and the original Spider-Man trilogy) would be directing a prequel to arguably the most popular film in cinematic history I was both concerned and enchanted by the idea. The possibilities of what it could address seemed endless and the world so large that it might be impossible to capture in a single feature. What Raimi and his gang have ended up concocting though is certainly something of a sprawling epic, but to take a cue from the titular hero it is a good film, not a great one. There is plenty to enjoy here, visuals to entice and characters to laugh and marvel at as references abound to that oh so familiar movie that has an all encompassing track into part of our childhood. Whether it be simple things such as the red smoke and fireballs the wicked witch utilizes or the poppy field that is brought back for good measure in this insightful but sometimes slow, sometimes bland film. I hate to sound as if I didn't like the film because that isn't true. I actually enjoyed the experience very much, made better by the full audience that had their predictable reactions ready and willing to fire at every expected and intended moment. I loved the imagination of Raimi and his team of artists that have rendered a version of OZ the makers of the original could have only imagined, bit for all that gloss and digital effects wizardry (for lack of a better word) there is still something missing about the movie; something that elevates it from simply being an enjoyable experience to a memorable one. I had fun re-visiting OZ and its winding yellow brick road, but odds are this adventure, no matter its title, will never be lumped into the same category as Victor Fleming's picture.

TAKE THIS WALTZ Review

Take This Waltz tries to be tragic, but we just can't feel any empathy for the main character simply due to her personality. This was not the outcome I expected from the film as I was rather looking forward to seeing director Sarah Polley's follow up to her touching 2006 film Away from Her. While it seems that Polley has gathered an appealing enough cast to relate her story of tested love the inherit problem with the film is that story itself. It is just something about the idea of a young couple lost to the idea that nothing lasts. It is depressing to the degree not that the audience can't deal with it, but to the fact that it is done with such cutting deception to what is made out to be a real and humble couple. For all of its indie garb it is pretentious in actually affecting the greater importance of the relationship it chronicles. It instead comes off as trying too hard not only to paint an authentic portrait of relationships but as a piece of work underdeveloped to the point it operates only on those cliches that it tries so hard to avoid. In essence it is almost a parody of itself the way these people operate in a world defined by its quirkiness. I wanted to like the film, I really did. At first glance you have to wonder what there is not to like. Michelle Williams? Seth Rogen? Sarah Silverman? All funny, talented people who seem to know a good project when they see one (though I know an argument would automatically be made about Rogen here) but when each of them see something in a nice, little indie script about love and relationships you think there might be something inspiring here. Instead it just turns out to be a tepid interpretation of an experience that could have easily struck a chord with so many.

Lou (Seth Rogen) and Margot (Michelle Williams) are
faced with an unexpected challenge.

We are first introduced to Margot (Williams) as she is on a writing assignment in Nova Scotia composing a brochure for a Canadian tourist attraction (a job that serves well enough to pay the bills apparently) but the importance of this trip is that our main character first meets Daniel here (Luke Kirby). Daniel is similar in age to Margot, attractive and willing to call her out on her intriguing perspective towards life and terminals. I don't know if it was just me, but knowing Margot has a husband back home who has no aspirations in love outside of taking care of her forever does nothing but make you dislike Daniel from the very beginning, and Margot even more. As they both arrive home, conversation really sparking when they are seated near one another on the plane and share a cab ride home we learn that Daniel just so happens to live across the street from Margot and her husband. In what is the shining light in this exercise in narcissism coated with sunshine is Seth Rogen as the unsuspecting Lou. Lou also has the blessing to have one of those jobs that seems to carry little responsibility while garnering enough of an income for he and his wife to live comfortably while not really considering much of their future together. Maybe that is part of the inherent problem here, but if Margot is looking for more or as we come to see it, simply something new, she doesn't stray far from her first pick as Daniel is even more artsy and likely has less of a promising career ahead. Who cares, what they're doing is fulfilling right?

Daniel (Luke Kirby) presents an unexpected dilemma
for the married Margot.

The real jolt of what made the film so disheartening though was not the fact it isn't something people can relate to. Naturally, there are going to be folks who relate to feeling trapped within certain things, trapped because they do in fact feel an obligation to the person they are with more than they do a connection and this in turn raises some interesting questions the film addresses. Those having to do with true love, what it is, what that even means and if real, honest happiness can ever be achieved through it. What makes it so hard to get in line with and really understand the sticky dilemma the film chronicles is our lack of care for that main character. This is strange, as I said earlier, seeing as she is played by the very meek and loving Michelle Williams, but not even Williams skill can bring Margot to resonate with the masses. She is annoying, more a distraction than adorable and we begin to wonder why Lou even cares what he is losing and why Daniel puts so much on the line for such a person. I understand the point director Polley is trying to illustrate with Margot; that there is nothing wrong with her, that she only feels her relationship has gone stale and though she tries, in her opinion, to salvage it the best she can, the shiny new guy across the street is just to tempting to let the opportunity go. As the movie describes it, life has a gap and sometimes people seek out things to fill that gap. Margot certainly does that, she takes the easy route or maybe the route she believes she really wants and who's to take that away from her? Still, we all know in the end that everything gets old at some point and Margot will end up behind more than she will ahead. Stuck in a place where it is not so easy to find a dancing partner as it once was.

Margot and her sister-in-law Geraldine (Sarah Silverman)
have an argument over each of their current
situations.

None of this is an excuse for the first hour and fifteen minutes though. It creeps by at such a slow pace it might be he cause of my dislike for the characters all the more. It becomes boring, even when Rogen appears on screen and evokes such loving goofiness that we ache for him to know the truth we also can't help but feel like we don't care all that much either. If you'd like to see a better film addressing a relationship from the end rather than the traditional rom com of boy meets girl than I would recommend something like Celeste and Jesse Forever over this. Where the current film under review attempts to paint a portrait of two people who have been in a relationship for quite some time, one growing restless the other completely content the Rashida Jones starrer gives a more honest look at the resonations of a break-up on the soul of a person with a more clear head and cast of characters that we feel we understand even if we may not agree we let their decisions pass whereas in Take this Waltz we can hardly stand to watch them operate and we certainly can't get behind them and root for the relationship to work. Some critics will enjoy this if for anything because it depicts a different picture of relationships than anything the Hollywood pipeline would ever produce, but just because it is different doesn't automatically make it more satisfying or even good. I liked parts of the film, the setting, the costume design the overall look of the film in general was very aesthetically pleasing but in the end I couldn't relate and I couldn't see why anyone would want to be like Margot.

TAKE THIS WALTZ Review

Take This Waltz tries to be tragic, but we just can't feel any empathy for the main character simply due to her personality. This was not the outcome I expected from the film as I was rather looking forward to seeing director Sarah Polley's follow up to her touching 2006 film Away from Her. While it seems that Polley has gathered an appealing enough cast to relate her story of tested love the inherit problem with the film is that story itself. It is just something about the idea of a young couple lost to the idea that nothing lasts. It is depressing to the degree not that the audience can't deal with it, but to the fact that it is done with such cutting deception to what is made out to be a real and humble couple. For all of its indie garb it is pretentious in actually affecting the greater importance of the relationship it chronicles. It instead comes off as trying too hard not only to paint an authentic portrait of relationships but as a piece of work underdeveloped to the point it operates only on those cliches that it tries so hard to avoid. In essence it is almost a parody of itself the way these people operate in a world defined by its quirkiness. I wanted to like the film, I really did. At first glance you have to wonder what there is not to like. Michelle Williams? Seth Rogen? Sarah Silverman? All funny, talented people who seem to know a good project when they see one (though I know an argument would automatically be made about Rogen here) but when each of them see something in a nice, little indie script about love and relationships you think there might be something inspiring here. Instead it just turns out to be a tepid interpretation of an experience that could have easily struck a chord with so many.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Review

There is a certain level of convention that covers "My Week With Marilyn" when what you would expect from a film based around the life of one of the most famous people ever would be anything but. As I sat there and absorbed the film it became more and more apparent that this snippet of who Marilyn Monroe was meant to evoke a certain aspect to her stardom, that it was a glimpse behind the curtain into what we assumed was actually a rather sad life. It is an age old lesson, fame not being all it's cracked up to be, but it is hard to feel sorry for those who have so much and are depressed because they can't have it all. It looks as if they have it all, but they will never have their anonymity again and that is where the choice has to be made. To become a celebrity and keep that status is to say that you want that lifestyle and accept all the trappings that come with it. People never seem to realize that in these types of movies. I have always had trouble feeling sorry for someone who has all they ever dreamed of yet still is ungrateful for the hardships it brings. That is essentially the story we are served here; that Marilyn Monroe was indeed a self-conscious, lost, pill-popper who constantly needed reassuring from her small team that always surrounded her. That she herself felt like she wasn't the celebrity, the ideal figure of glamour all of her fans had cooked up in their heads. Certainly there must have been a tremendous amount of pressure to live up to those expectations when you are showered with such praise all the time, but for all the fuss and all the compliments we have ever heard about Mrs. Monroe I thought a movie about her might be more charismatic. Instead "My Week With Marilyn" is Michelle Williams bringing her incarnation of Marilyn to a film that doesn't deserve it.

Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier.

When I say the film doesn't deserve it that may sound a bit more harsh than I intended. It is just that, compared to the performance Williams gives the rest of the movie just feels so minor. And maybe that is the effect director Simon Curtis was going for; that to make Marilyn feel so much bigger than anything she was a part of is how those around her felt. I could certainly see an argument for that angle, but in the end that is not the clear intention of the film as I interpreted it. Marilyn is certainly the focus here, but the story in which it is telling actually comes more from the perspective of Colin Clark. Clark was a young film enthusiast and was anxious to work in the pictures. His family was wealthy and had connections which allowed him the luxury of knowing Sir Laurence Olivier and his wife Vivien Leigh who helped get him an interview with Olivier. This film is based on the memoir of the actual Clark who when working as an assistant on the set of "The Prince and the Showgirl" developed a more personal relationship with Marilyn than he could have ever imagined. In developing the relationship between Monroe and Clark (as played by Eddie Redmayne) we see it as more of Monroe trying to escape the pressures of work and living a life that is nothing like the one she has to experience when back in the US. We can see from Marilyn's point of view what she is doing and why she needs it, but we never doubt for a second that Colin is believing every word of it. While this minor love story is "the hook" of the film, the real backbone to it is the job on which Marilyn is supposed to be working and for me, was the highlight of the film. To see Olivier and company in production of a film was the enchanting part of displaying old Hollywood and as Olivier Kenneth Branagh gives a performance to rival even Williams, too bad it isn't given the screen time or focus that might have elevated this film above that conventional feel.

Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) and Colin (Eddie
Redmayne) take a stroll around Colin's old stomping grounds.

There is a host of other supporting members in the film as well that build an atmosphere authentic to the time period. Having Dougray Scott play Marilyn's new husband and famous playwright Arthur Miller induces those giddy feelings when you see iconic figures in their everyday environment while Dame Judi Dench gives the role of Dame Sybil Thorndike a brilliant touch of intelligence that lends her understanding and empathy. Toby Jones, who is always a pleasure to see on screen no matter the role, shows up in a few scenes as does Dominic Cooper. Cooper, only playing a minor role here as Milton Greene, is an an actor that more consistently seems to be popping up in movies that have award aspirations. Cooper is a fine actor as displayed by his leading work in "The Devil's Double" but he brings nothing spectacular to this small role and left me wondering why he might even be interested if there was nothing different he felt he could bring to it. Emma Watson on the other hand has made a nice choice in a small, but effective post-Potter role. As Lucy, a young girl who worked in the wardrobe department on the film, Colin first develops a crush on her, seeing her as the ideal girl he could get to know and would like to be with. In Colin's world, she is reality while his encounter with Marilyn is a state of dream-like wonderment. The relationships are developed convincingly and the main point of the film is conveyed in a way we don't feel smothered by it, but in the end that overall sense of wonderment is all too brief when Williams as Marilyn is forced to become that figure everyone wants her to be. It is funny to watch her turn it on and off, and depressing in that those around her, those she felt the most safe with, were likely more interested in her for their personal reasons rather than her own well being. Funny in that the greatest role Norma Jean Mortenson ever played was Marilyn Monroe.

Dame Sybil Thorndike (Judi Dench) is the one positive
actor on the set of "The Prince and the Showgirl". 

"My Week With Marilyn" is by no means a bad film, it is rather engaging actually and as put in the previous paragraph has a supporting cast any film might envy. Where it feels lacking is in the oversimplified telling of the story. The conflict is there, Williams perfectly embodying this iconic figure and all her insecurities and war against her ego. One of our greatest living actors, Kenneth Branagh, giving a performance of what is no doubt one of his own idols that speaks volumes and is more than nomination worthy yet the focus is in the wrong place and the film overall lacks a confident direction. I have not seen any of director Simon Curtis's previous work as much of it is British TV series', but it is clear he in fact feels overwhelmed by the pure wattage of star power he had on his own set. And not to discredit Colin Clark, but it is clear that after reflecting on the film that the script is where most of the issues arise. The ambition for the movie can be applauded and the glimpse into Marilyn Monroe's life can certainly be appreciated, but there is a level of greatness that the sum of this films parts could reach that feels restrained by the story it is telling and those who are telling it. If they knew what they were doing they would have easily seen the more appealing and interesting relationship was the one that developed between Monroe and Olivier. That would have been one not to miss, this film however should be seen for Williams dedication and the way she captures the essence of Monroe, but should not be held accountable as the "Marilyn Monroe movie". Someone write a full biogrpahical script and get Williams in on that portrait. That would no doubt be something we could all marvel at.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Review

There is a certain level of convention that covers "My Week With Marilyn" when what you would expect from a film based around the life of one of the most famous people ever would be anything but. As I sat there and absorbed the film it became more and more apparent that this snippet of who Marilyn Monroe was meant to evoke a certain aspect to her stardom, that it was a glimpse behind the curtain into what we assumed was actually a rather sad life. It is an age old lesson, fame not being all it's cracked up to be, but it is hard to feel sorry for those who have so much and are depressed because they can't have it all. It looks as if they have it all, but they will never have their anonymity again and that is where the choice has to be made. To become a celebrity and keep that status is to say that you want that lifestyle and accept all the trappings that come with it. People never seem to realize that in these types of movies. I have always had trouble feeling sorry for someone who has all they ever dreamed of yet still is ungrateful for the hardships it brings. That is essentially the story we are served here; that Marilyn Monroe was indeed a self-conscious, lost, pill-popper who constantly needed reassuring from her small team that always surrounded her. That she herself felt like she wasn't the celebrity, the ideal figure of glamour all of her fans had cooked up in their heads. Certainly there must have been a tremendous amount of pressure to live up to those expectations when you are showered with such praise all the time, but for all the fuss and all the compliments we have ever heard about Mrs. Monroe I thought a movie about her might be more charismatic. Instead "My Week With Marilyn" is Michelle Williams bringing her incarnation of Marilyn to a film that doesn't deserve it.