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Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Dougray Scott, Julia Ormond ... see more see more... , Judi Dench , Dominic Cooper , Emma Watson , Toby Jones , Zoë Wanamaker , Philip Jackson , Geraldine Somerville , Derek Jacobi , Simon Russell Beale , Pip Torrens , Michael Kitchen , Miranda Raison , Karl Moffatt , Robert Portal , Jim Carter , Victor McGuire , Richard Attlee , Michael Hobbs , Brooks Livermore , Rod O'Grady , Richard Clifford , Gerard Horan , Alex Lowe , Georgie Glen , Richard Shelton , Peter Wight , Paul Herzberg , James Clay , Jem Wall , Ben Sando , Josh Morris , David Rintoul , Sean Vanderwilt , Adam Perry , Desmond McAleer

In the early summer of 1956, 23 year-old Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), 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 ... read more read more...and the Showgirl'. The film that famously united Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) and Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams), who was also on honeymoon with her new husband, the playwright Aurthur Miller (Dougray Scott). 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. -- (C) Weinstein

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156 critics

R, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: Simon Curtis

Release Date: November 23, 2011

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DVD Release Date: March 13, 2012

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Kenneth Branagh Eddie Redmayne Michelle Williams Julia Ormond Michelle Williams Judi Dench Michelle Williams Michelle Williams Michelle Williams Emma Watson Michelle Williams Michelle Williams Michelle Williams Michelle Williams Dominic Cooper Derek Jacobi Emma Watson as "Lucy" in 'My Week with Marilyn' Michelle Williams
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Flixster Reviews (2,214)

  • cosmo313
    May 27, 2012
    cosmo313
    This is based on the true story of Colin Clark, an ambitious 23 year-old trying to make it big in the film industry in 1956 who happens to land a job as an assistant on the set of "The Prince and the Showgirl"- a film starring and directed by Laurence Olivier and featuring Marily... read moren Monroe as the female lead.

    Colin is smitten with Marilyn, and his profesional association begins to turn personal with her, despite warnings of her being a heartbreaker and the threat of trouble. Colin begins to understand who the real Marilyn Monroe is, and he just might be the person she needs most, even if their connection is inevitably going to be a bittersweet coming of age story.

    This is a very charming and heartfelt film, and yeah, it's moving too, despite being osmewhat predictable and unoriginal. Like the very similar Me and Orson Welles, this is flawed, yet well played. Eddie Redmayne is decent, but of course he's playing econd fiddle to the more interesting characters played by Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh.

    Williams may not be a dead ringer for Monroe (kinda like how Frank Langella and Anthony Hopkins don't really look like Richard Nixon), but she uccesfully captures the spirit and essence of her, as well as the beauty. This was going to be a tough role for anyone, but she pulls it off nicely, and she's great at showing all sides of Ms. Monroe, from the sexy and playful, to the insecure and damaged. He's made a career out of brilliant performances, and this is yet another great one to add to the list. Branagh is likewise great as Olivier, doing a good job of showing his frustration with trying to handle a force like Marilyn. There's also some appearances by Julia Ormond, Dougray Scott, Judi Dench, Emma Watson, Bob Hoskins, and Toby Jones, with some faring better than others, but nobody truly sucking.

    All in all, this is a nice film, and it looks great, and is highlighted by the acting, but the story is nothing new, this isn't as fresh as it could have been, and it's pretty overrated, but still, even then, it's hard not to like it even just a little bit.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    April 28, 2012
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier's, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during production of The Prince and the Showgirl.

    Great Film! The movie is similar in tone to "The King's Speech," and was helped by a beautiful score and wonde... read morerful costumes. I thought the performances were all very good by the leading characters. Michelle Williams's hardcore study on her character shows in the movie and she deserved her Oscar nomination. The cinematography used throughout the picture is exquisite and has a very nostalgic feel to it, which adds to the authenticity of the film, throughout. I understand that it is extremely hard to satisfy all audiences when a film about such a universal icon is created. However, I did feel that the film only scratched the surface of Monroe's exquisite facade, and that so much more could have been done within the creative walls of Curtis' direction. Overall, beautiful setting, costume design, and a thoroughly believable love affair between Redmayne and William's characters, all add up to a captivating, beautiful film, which I feel will be looked upon in years to come, as a sensitive and inciteful look into the life of Hollywood's most intriguing superstar.

    Young Oxford graduate Colin Clark has dreams of getting into the movies. Or, has he prefers to say, run off to the circus. He pursues a production position and is eventually named third assistant director for The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). Directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier, the film also stars Marilyn Monroe. While Olivier the renowned stage actor is looking to become a movie star, Monroe is a movie star looking to be seen as a serious actress. Monroe is terribly self-conscious, has her own full-time acting coach in Paula Strasberg and is frequently late. It all drives Olivier a bit mad and he assign Colin to supervise her and make sure she gets to work on time. Colin and Marilyn soon develop a rapport and they have a positive effect on one another.
  • fb733768972
    April 26, 2012
    fb733768972
    "My Week With Marilyn" celebrates the story of how Marilyn Monroe became a huge movie star, from the low point of being hated by everyone on set, to overcoming her fears and gaining the appearance of best actress of her time, this film shows how beautiful film truly is. Eddie Red... read moremayne and most notably Michelle Williams, deliver stunning performances as Colin Clark and Marilyn Monroe. Everything about this film is perfect. From the script, to the acting, to the picture perfect cinematography, "My Week With Marilyn" is a masterpiece. Easily of the best films of 2011.
  • LWOODS04
    April 25, 2012
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Dominic Cooper, Julia Ormond, Emma Watson, Judi Dench, Zoë Wanamaker, Toby Jones, Derek Jacobi, Dougray Scott

    Director: Simon Curtis

    Summary: While filming a movie in England, Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe slips away wi... read moreth a young Brit for a week of self-discovery and frivolity. The story that ensues is based on the real-life memoirs of Colin Clark, once assistant to Sir Laurence Olivier.

    My Thoughts: "I absolutely loved this movie and am, once again, impressed by Michelle Williams performance and her portrayal of the haunting and beautiful Ms. Marilyn Monroe. The film gives you a glimpse in the life of Marilyn as well as Colin. I don't think anyone will can truly say they knew the real Marilyn, but just this little glimpse of how it was for her makes me feel sad for her. The impending feeling she had of wanting acceptance and love comes through the screen in a force. The film surrounds more on Colin Clark, but Michelle Williams took over the screen with her presence that you forget who the film is really about. Not that Redmayne didn't give a great performance, cause he did, it's just Michelle was a force to be reckoned with. Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh give great supporting performances as well. Great film."
  • SirPant
    April 13, 2012
    SirPant
    I thoroughly enjoyed My Week with Marilyn. The ensemble cast is fantastic with Branagh and Dench as great supporting actors but Michelle Williams stealing the show as Marilyn Monroe. She is brilliant in the role, so much so that I kept having to remind myself that she wasn't the ... read morereal Marilyn, I exaggerate not. She is fast becoming my favourite actress, with her last few films being my favourite of the last few years. Although the story is based on Colin Clark's book, it's fair to say that his memory was slightly blurred my his whirlwind romance, understandable but when it comes to that odd scene where we see Jack Cardiff say hello it doesn't quite ring true. I met Jack a few years ago at Brighton film school, he tried to sell us original photos of Marilyn for ridiculous sums of money. He was old and had lost it a bit but he spoke of Marilyn in the most wonderful way, I can understand how she captivated so many. I did however, appreciate the uncomplicated mood of the story - what many see as being dull I saw as being focused. The two second Norman Wisdom appearance was great though and very much appreciated, wouldn't it have been great if he was in The Prince and the Showgirl!
  • blacksheepboy
    April 9, 2012
    blacksheepboy
    A decent yet not memorable film that left me smiling after it ended. Michelle Williams is great, even though she doesn't resemble the real Marilyn physically or in tone of voice - and it is also a role that would require an actress with greater sex appeal.
  • itsjustme2004
    April 4, 2012
    itsjustme2004
    Very well done little film that gives an inside look at the woman behind Marilyn Monroe. The cast is uniformly good and the story interesting, but the real reason to see it is for Michelle William's performance. She is just fantastic, and at times seems to be channeling Marilyn, ... read moreespecially her intelligence, complex personality, the battles with her inner demons, and her incredible ability to manipulate men. She absolutely deserved her Best Actress nomination. Good job!
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    March 25, 2012
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Simon Curtis's My Week With Marilyn is an entertaining , but somewhat lacking film about the filming of one of Marilyn Monroe's most famous pictures. I felt that Michelle Williams was terrific in her role as Marilyn Monroe, and it is the highpoint of the film. In the end, you hav... read moree an imperfect film that has been said it was to be a perfect film and what not. Unfortunately for Michelle Williams, who brilliantly portrays Marilyn Monroe. This is a flawed film that really doesn't do William's performance justice. The story and directing felt unfocused. Thus, My Week with Marilyn is a film that is imperfect and was backed with an effective marketing campaign to make this film seem better than it is. I thought the film was good, and the acting was great; but the story lacked something to really make this one stand out. The film suffers from something truly interesting that would make this film stand out. Aside from Michelle Williams really looking the part, this is a film that should have been great, but is limited because of a lacking script and uneven directing. Luckily the film isn't a total waste due to Michelle Williams phenomenal performance. She alone saves this film from being a total misfire. Unfortunately My Week with Marilyn isn't the great film I thought it would be. Watching the film, I felt that there was something missing to make this a truly remarkable and memorable film experience that would this a superb film to watch. But the story lacks at times, and in some cases, it becomes uninteresting to the viewer.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    March 20, 2012
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "People always see Marilyn Monroe. As soon as they realize I'm not her, they run."

    Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier's, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during production of The Prince and the Showgirl.

    ... read more=+2 face="Century Schoolbook">REVIEW
    The real Marilyn Monroe was an inch and a half taller than Michelle Williams, a significant difference when one considers that there is no way Williams could have replicated the voluptuous physicality of Monroe's presence. Yet, the young actress does something quite unexpected in capturing the essence of Monroe's wounded psyche for all its frailties and doing a convincing job of conveying the public Marilyn for all her breathy sensuality in this modest 2011 showbiz tale. Directed by British TV veteran Simon Curtis and written by Adrian Hodges, the film depicts a minor piece of motion picture lore based on the memoirs of Colin Clark, who was a lowly "third assistant director" during the production of the Ruritanian romance, "The Prince and the Showgirl". The mostly forgotten 1957 movie marked Monroe's attempt at being taken seriously as an actress in a well-publicized collaboration with Sir Laurence Olivier just after she married playwright Arthur Miller.

    Williams tackles the impossible with her empathetic performance as Monroe, and she manages it with aplomb without resorting to outright impersonation. One deliberate exception is the enchanting little dance she does as her character in the movie within the movie - she mimics Monroe perfectly in those few moments. Eddie Redmayne plays the callow Colin to the best of the screenplay's workmanlike limitations since the only hint of complexity is breaking the heart of the young costumer played in a fetching manner by an underused Emma Watson. As Olivier, Kenneth Branagh captures the ego-driven bluster and measured speech cadence of the legendary actor, but he is also underserved by Hodges' script. Dame Judi Dench again steals her scenes as a fellow scene-stealer, Dame Sybil Thorndike. Barely making a ripple in the story are Julia Ormond as Olivier's then-wife, Vivien Leigh, with just a hint given of her descent into madness, and Dougray Scott as a taciturn Miller. For all its flaws, the film is worth seeing for Williams' mesmerizing work, for example, the scene where she romps through the English countryside conveying Monroe's sense of freedom in a way that recalls a similarly poignant scene in "The Misfits".
  • jjnxn
    March 14, 2012
    jjnxn
    Yet another trip to the well to pick over the legend of the sad Marilyn suffers from several faults. It has always been acknowledged even by Marilyn herself that "Marilyn Monroe" was a creation of the star and the actual woman was very different but for something so joyous to exi... read morest there had to be a reserve for her to draw from, could we please someday see a film about that facet of her life. Questionable source material purports to tell the story of a brief interlude during her filming in England with a callow youth who somehow manages to keep her glued together when others can't. The whole thing comes across more as wish fulfillment than fact however good acting helps cover many of the shortcomings. Michelle Williams is undoubtedly one of if not the best actress of her generation and her Marilyn is an interesting interpretation but she doesn't capture the Monroe essence, can anybody? The two best performances come from Kenneth Branagh as Larry Olivier and Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike, masterful performers making real people out of their characters with only a handful of scenes. Zoe Wanamaker's turn as that parasitic succubus Paula Strasberg is also well judged subtly implying her iron fist and crippling control over the vulnerable Marilyn. A false note is struck by Julia Ormond, a good actress but totally wrong as Vivien Leigh she neither resembles nor gives off that actress' charisma. Another issue that might only be an irritant to classic film fans but to them will be glaring is the terrible staging of her musical numbers, they use numbers she actually performed true but do not even approximate the actual perfomance of the songs. It wouldn't be so bad were they not presented as a filmed viewing experience but since they are it distracting. Not a bad film but ordinary.

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Critic Reviews

Rick Groen
December 2, 2011
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

That's all familiar lore but, to his credit, director Simon Curtis lays out these separate ambitions and conflicting tensions with breezy dispatch in the early frames. Full Review

Joe Baltake
November 30, 2011
Joe Baltake, Passionate Moviegoer

'My Week with Marilyn': Minor film with major marketing campaign Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
November 26, 2011
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

A dubious idea done in by Adrian Hodges's shallow script and Simon Curtis's clumsy direction. Full Review

Peter Howell
November 25, 2011
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Curtis occasionally takes his characters out of Pinewood, but they're never really set free, either in physical or emotional terms. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
November 24, 2011
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Michelle Williams plays Monroe, and she's a wonder. Full Review

James Rocchi
November 23, 2011
James Rocchi, MSN Movies

It's too bad that Williams didn't have a script or director that would have given the film a better chance of attaining greatness. Full Review

Peter Rainer
November 23, 2011
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

[Williams] captures not only Monroe's fragility but also the guile and gumption beneath it. What she can't capture, of course, is Monroe's aura, and without it, the performance comes across as somethi... Full Review

William Goss
November 23, 2011
William Goss, Film.com

It's an easy emotional rollercoaster to put an audience through, and while Williams nails the breathy voice and flickers of doubt, her work here is never allowed to feel truly effortless. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
November 23, 2011
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

After My Week, Monroe remains an enigma. And that isn't a failing of Williams' performance but an expression of its nuance. Full Review

Bob Mondello
November 23, 2011
Bob Mondello, NPR

When Williams turns on her inner Marilyn -- surrounded by, say, the staff of a stately home she's visiting on the sly -- she's a superstar, with a smile that could light up the surrounding county. Full Review

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    • Sir Laurence Olivier: You do look, my son, in a moved sort, as if you were dismayed. Be cheerful, sir. Our revels new are ended. We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.
    • Sir Laurence Olivier: Be cheerful sir. Our revels now are ended. We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded with a sleep.
    • Marilyn Monroe: Little girls shouldn't be told how pretty they are. They should grow up knowing how much their mother loves them.
    • Marilyn Monroe: Thank you for being on my side.
    • Arthur Jacobs: Marilyn, is it true you wear nothing in bed but Perfume?
    • Marilyn Monroe: Darling, as I'm in England let's say I sleep in nothing but Yardley's lavender.
    • Sir Laurence Olivier: She's quite wonderful. No training, no craft, no guile, just pure instinct. Astonishing.
    • Colin Clark: You should tell her that.
    • Sir Laurence Olivier: Oh, I will. But she won't believe me. That's probably what makes her great, yet it's certainly what makes her so profoundly unhappy.
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