My Week with Marilyn ★★★
(UK/USA, 99 min.)
Dir. Simon Curtis; Writ. Adrian Hodges.
Starring: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Julia Ormond, Emma Watson.

“When Marilyn gets it right, you can’t take your eyes away,” says Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) upon watching a flawless take. One gets the same impression when watching “Marilyn” as performed by Michelle Williams. She’s truly flawless as the iconic blonde: sexy, sultry, and equal turns fragile and tragic. Williams gets it so right as Marilyn Monroe that one can only regard My Week with Marilyn with awe when Williams graces the screen. The problem, though, is that as much as one wants to let Marilyn work her magic, the film frequently cuts away, casting the drama on the plight of Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne). Colin is by no means a dull character, nor is Redmayne a poor actor, but Colin is simply no match for the incomparable allure of Marilyn Monroe. (Really, who had heard of him prior to the film?) Since the film favours Colin, rather than the far more dramatic Marilyn and the impeccable Williams, My Week with Marilyn ultimately plays like the rough cut of a five-star movie.