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Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, Oscar Isaac, James D'Arcy, Richard Coyle ... see more see more... , Natalie Dormer , David Harbour , James Fox , Laurence Fox , Judy Parfitt , Haluk Bilginer , Geoffrey Palmer , Douglas Reith , Katie McGrath , Christina Chong , Nick Smithers , Damien Thomas , Liberty Ross , Ryan Hayward , Charlotte Comer , Duane Henry , Anna Skellern , Penny Downie , David Redden , Alberto Vasquez , Nicole Harvey , Daniel Andre Pageon , Hywel Morgan , Patricia Stark , Annabelle Wallis , Audrey Brisson , Emily Denniston , Suzanne Bertish , Ben Willbond , Leigh Zimmerman , David Collins , Linda Glick , Gil Cohen Allono , Stephen Jones , James McNeill , Lisa Gherari , Vincent Montuel

W.E. tells the story of two fragile but determined women - Wally Winthrop and Wallis Simpson - separated by more than six decades. In 1998, lonely New Yorker Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) is obsessed... read more read more... with what she perceives as the ultimate love story: King Edward's VIII's abdication of the British throne for the woman he loved, American divorcée Wallis Simpson. But Wally's research, including several visits to the Sotheby's auction of the Windsor Estate, reveals that the couple's life together was not as perfect as she thought. Weaving back and forth in time, W.E. intertwines Wally's journey of discovery in New York with the story of Wallis (Andrea Riseborough) and Edward (James D'Arcy), from the glamorous early days of their romance to the slow unraveling of their lives in the decades that followed. -- (C) Weinstein

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51% liked it

3,599 ratings

Critics

12% liked it

97 critics

R, 1 hr. 58 min.

Directed by: Madonna

Release Date: February 3, 2012

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DVD Release Date: May 1, 2012

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Flixster Reviews (216)

  • blacksheepboy
    May 23, 2012
    blacksheepboy
    Madonna employs her shallow view of life in this self-indulgent project of pure vanity to tell two insipid stories that hardly blend together. An excruciating and unfocused mess about two pathetic women full of self-pity and with no self-respect.
  • xas5
    May 10, 2012
    xas5
    Besides a stylish and evocative piano number, Madonna's latest directing project falls flat, and hard. With a repetitious and unexplained connection between Abbie Cornish's character and Andrea Riseborough as Wallis Simpson, the film tends to be more about violence towards women ... read moreand a biographical look at the relationship between King Edward's VIII and Mrs. Simpson than anything emotionally connectable. The film bores to the point of exhaustion and feels too much like a big budget flop.
  • fb1025970122
    May 2, 2012
    fb1025970122
    If you were at all interested in the other side of the story that was happening during 2010's best picture winner "The King's Speech" well, now you have the chance to see it play out in director Madonna's beautiful-looking if not slow moving tribute titled "W./E.". The film tells... read more the story of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. How the King of England fell so deeply in love with a twice divorced American woman that he abdicated the throne, his title, and his family to spend his life with her. Pretty crazy right? Madonna, who took on the screenwriting challenge here as well, has made their story a mirror to the more present day life of Wally Winthrop, a young married woman who is obsessed with what she believes to be this ultimate kind of fairy tale love. Needless to say, her marriage is not all chocolates and roses. She begins to research their story and naturally finds out that it isn't all it was made out to be. It is interesting to get the story from the woman's perspective as most historians look to Edward and all that he gave up to be the woman, but the film is right in assuming its position of what made this woman so appealing? What was it about her that made the King literally give up everything? The bad part about the film is that it never really feels like it delves into those details. I enjoy Abbie Cornish and her work, but in all honesty would have rather seen a straightforward biopic if Madonna was going to do their story justice, then go all in. That said, she could have easily done it with Andrea Riseborough as Wallis and James D'Arcy as Edward. they are superb in their roles and the characters they've embodied do indeed deserve their own film. A film that is as exciting and intriguing as there romance, not one as boring and uptight as "W./E.".
  • casillase1
    May 12, 2012
    casillase1
    Oh Madonna I love you but step away from the movies please. We always knew Madonna was unsuited to be acting in films, but she's still trying her hand at directing, despite the disaster that was 2008's Filth and Wisdom. Say this for her, she has real tenacity, but the film doesn'... read moret match it. W.E. is a frustratingly inert period drama, where the only thing that shines are the exquisite costumes. Not that the premise doesn't have something of an idea. Madge and co-screenwriter Alek Keshishian (who directed Truth or Dare) tell the story of Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough, giving some real heft to this tepid affair), the American socialite and divorcee who fell in love with King Edward VIII (James D'Arcy) which resulted in Edward abdicating his throne t marry her. W.E. stands for Wallis and Edward. Thing is, Madonna doesn 't delve deeper into their romance than 2010's the King's Speech did. Instead, she adds something else: present day Manhattanite Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish), who identifies with Wallis and so their stories are interlaced a la Julie and Julia. Except here you often have no clue what the fuck is going on, nor will you care much. W.E. is a torturous disaster.
  • paj85
    May 10, 2012
    paj85
    "W.E." surprised me twice. First, I was surprised that something whose previews looked so promising (I even predicted several Oscar nominations) could be so dull. But then, I was even more surprised that the paralleling stories redeemed this film in the end. At first, I felt a... read mores if it was "The Hours" gone completely wrong, with its constant shifting between stories separated by 60 years and Phillip Glass-like soundtrack giving it a copycat feel; however, the fact that they didn't draw direct, obvious parallels between the two women's lives kept it from feeling TOO much like "The Hours." The parallels seem more like happenstance as they aren't presented chronologically with the other story, leaving the audience to connect the things that happened early in one character's life with ones that happened later in the other character's life. That being said, Madonna's directorial feature is still a partial disaster. The first half of this film wanders around in circles and I was completely lost. I'm pretty sure that the cast, director, and writers were completely lost, as well. The story of Wallis Simpson and King Edward is fascinating and I would have much rather seen a biopic than this creative approach. The actors are alright, but there were really only two reasons to watch this film: 1. It is a really interesting supplement to "The King's Speech" as these stories align, and 2. The letter reading scene is magic. That scene truly makes this film completely worth watching, pulling the stories together by intertwining Wallis Simpson's hardships that she endured for her love with Wally Winthrop's challenging decision in modern times. It is debatable whether the horrid first 1/2-hour of the film is worth watching in order to have the letter reading scene be so poignant, but I'd probably give this film another shot with a low expectation.
  • emiliobarzini
    May 5, 2012
    emiliobarzini
    Not the disaster it's reported to be. Great visuals and style. The modern parallel story was unnecessary and distracting. Andrea Riseborough is terrific as Wallis Simpson.
  • fb677587177
    May 5, 2012
    fb677587177
    I really, really wanted to like this movie. It's visually beautiful, and the synopsis makes it sound good. Unfortunately, it's... not. At all. I was bored out of my mind an hour into it and couldn't imagine sitting through any more. Kudos to the visual team for making something p... read moreretty, it's just too bad there's nothing else to back it up.
  • fb618639746
    February 23, 2012
    fb618639746
    Ok, so "W./E." wasn't as dreadful as I was expecting to be. That said, it wasn't "good" either.

    It had two saving graces that kept the movie afloat -- Andrea Riseborough, and the set designers.

    Riseborough was intriguing throughout, and couldn't've done much more with what s... read morehe was given.

    And, regarding the sets -- and the visuals in general -- pretty, pretty, pretty.

    Negative: Too much 1990s and too little 1930s... aka, Too much Wally Winthrop and too little Wallis Simpson.

    Negative: Too long.

    Negative: Infantile dialogue, and a lack of much subtlety or nuance. (Not Ms. Ciccone's fortes, alas.)

    Negative: The portrayal of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon as conniving, merciless, and power hungry. (I mean, wasn't the point of this movie to do away with demonizing characterizations in general?)

    Negative: The portrayal of Edward VIII as some heroic romantic. (Hardly.)

    The flip side of that, though -- and a positive -- is that the movie *didn't* go out of its way to portray Wallis as heroic or romantic, as I feared they would. Strong, yes. Bright, yes. Role-model? Eh, not really.

    I think *most* of y'all would be just as well to skip this one. However, the aesthetes amongst you will probably find it hard to stay away, regardless of whatever I might say.
  • fb23701907
    February 11, 2012
    fb23701907
    The film is drenched in style but fails by making too many points half-heartedly. However, I took away something different from the film's story and direction. Forget about historical accuracy or relatable characters, the real centerpiece of this film is Madonna (obviously). It's... read more clearly a story about the struggles she has faced with fame, abuse, and love and told through both of the women on screen. While I wouldn't really care for anything in the film if I weren't a fan, I'm coming away from it like I would if I had just had a long conversation with her. It's probably the most personal and intimate thing she's done, and yes I have seen Truth or Dare.

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Critic Reviews

Colin Covert
March 5, 2012
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

With "W.E." Madonna gorges on glamour, architectural porn and haute couture but starves the mind. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
March 2, 2012
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

The film is stylishly shot. And, in weaving the stories of Wally and Wallis, Madonna trusts viewers to move from mood to mood, era to era without overexplanation, the way music-video editing long ago ... Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz
February 16, 2012
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

The production is nice looking, and telling the Edward-and-Wallis story from her side is an interesting idea, but it's one that Madonna simply can't pull off here. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
February 10, 2012
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

A movie that's less about people than the fetishistic obsession with style. Full Review

Tom Long
February 10, 2012
Tom Long, Detroit News

"W.E." is not awful. It looks quite nice at times, and Riseborough delivers an exquisite if overdrawn performance as Wallis. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
February 9, 2012
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

As a director, Madonna has flair without ability, but she does have flair. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
February 9, 2012
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

Madonna the director deserves a script better than the one Madonna the screenwriter handed off to her. Full Review

Ty Burr
February 9, 2012
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

[It] tries awfully hard. In the end it tries our patience. Full Review

Michael Phillips
February 9, 2012
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Madonna as a director has no discernible idea of how to locate a tone, or a provocative blend of tones. Her camera makes circles around its subjects every chance it gets in ways that evoke - nothing. Full Review

Roger Ebert
February 9, 2012
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

"W.E." is an elegant, ambitious and relentlessly monotonous film. Full Review

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    • Wallis Simpson: Attractive is just a polite way of saying you've done the best with what you've got. All I could hope to do was dress the best and if everyone turned to look at me when I walked into the room, well, I knew my husband would be happy.
    • Wallis Simpson: Darling, they can't hurt you unless you let them.
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W.E. Trivia

  • Complete this verse of the song of the knights of Camelot from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." We're knights of the round table We dance when'er we're able We do routines and chorus scenes With footwork impeccable We dine well here in Camelot  Answer »
  • Which Disney film contains a song which has the lyrics 'We are Siamese if you please'?  Answer »
  • In the movie Shall We Dance?, what did the sign read that was hanging over the window outside of the studio that Richard Gere's character saw from the train?  Answer »
  • In what movie do we hear: "When I was growing up, I knew I was different. The other girls were blonde and delicate, and I was a swarthy six-year-old with sideburns"  Answer »
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