My Week With Marilyn

In 1956, Colin Clark, 23, camped out in Laurence Olivier's production offices until he was given a position as third assistant director on Olivier's attempt at reinventing himself as a Hollywood film star in The Prince and the Showgirl. On set, Clark caught the eye of Marilyn Monroe, well on her way to becoming an icon of the silver screen, and quickly became her confidant and handler. My Week with Marilyn, adapted to film by screenwriter Adrian Hodges, is based on Clark's account of their relationship.

Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) abandons his posh upbringing to pursue work in the movies. He's hired as a gofer on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl, where he half-heartedly woos costume assistant Lucy (Emma Watson) and positively swoons over leading lady Monroe (Michelle Williams). Soon, Clark finds himself a trusted part of Monroe's entourage, which includes acting coach Paula Strasberg (Zoë Wanamaker) and stoic bodyguard Roger Smith (Philip Jackson). Clark seems to be the only one who can calm the neurotic Monroe down enough to perform on set.

Recently married to playwright Arthur Miller, Monroe is desperately trying to establish herself as a serious actress. Because of the immense pressure she puts on herself and the drugs she takes to handle it, she often flubs her lines (when she can even make it on set). She frequently consults Strasberg over director Olivier (Kenneth Branagh), who dismissively insists she merely "pretend" to be the showgirl. Clark provides Monroe with the unconditional admiration she craves. He also takes her out for much needed R&R. He falls in love, and fancies she loves him.

Director Simon Curtis, a veteran of small-screen period dramas such as David Copperfield and Cranford, is skillful with period details. There are exquisite sets and costumes, and the lighting and color palette draw natural comparisons to last year's award-winning "little" British film The King's Speech. Curtis is also adept at interweaving storylines. He gives credence to Clark's tale of romance, but relies more on the tension between Olivier and Monroe for artistic meaning. Clark may be Monroe's favorite during the filming, but this story needs the conflict between director and actress to even exist.

Curtis makes the filming of the movie within the movie a fascinating battle between traditional and new ways of performing on screen. There's considerable talk of the craft of acting, but it's treated with an agile hand so it remains enjoyable. Very seldom does Strasberg make it onto the actual screen, but she does so here. Plus, Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike provides an additional comedic but respectful perspective. Lovers of old movies will find much to like in this new one.

Comparisons between the idols and the actors portraying them are inevitable; however unfair or unkind. Ultimately, Branagh portrays Olivier as Pagliacci-type sad clown, and it works. After his own aspirations to become Monroe's next lover are quashed, he's relegated to being the aging, impotent director of a flop. He deems his own wife, the beautiful Vivien Leigh (Julia Ormond), as too old. Even the makeup Branagh (as Olivier) applies to his own face to play his role in the The Prince and the Showgirl seems old-fashioned and stagy.

Although lankier than Monroe, Williams does more than merely impersonate the star of the silver screen. She embodies her. In the scenes in which Monroe is performing on stage or on set, in particular, Williams is luminescent. She flirts, she charms, she glows. Williams plays Monroe playing Monroe. Equally well, she plays Monroe as private, insecure, sad, alcoholic. Just as Branagh seems destined to play Olivier, this is a role meant for Williams. She shines.