My Week with Marilyn

*** stars

There is something innocently fascinating about watching a modern day star portray a star from the past. It’s always a great role for the modern day actor as it captures their range and fundamentals as a figure people have already come to have a perception about. Plus, the Academy Awards pay close attention to you. Robert Downey picked up his first Oscar nomination portraying Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin and Cate Blanchett won an Oscar playing Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator (there’s plenty more to choose from here). Here, Michelle Williams plays Marilyn Monroe and she absolutely nails it. As does Kenneth Branagh as Sir Lawrence Olivier. In the film, Monroe is on set for the famous director’s The Prince and the Showgirl. However, My Week with Marilyn is not through the point-of-view of the prolific stars, but rather of a third assistant director who just landed his first real job in the business. Apparently for a week, young Colin Clark’s intrigue for Marilyn grows into more than just an attraction. She invites him into her life and the two become close for a short period of time. About a week I'd say (no pun intended). While it was probably the highlight of Colin's life, for Marilyn it feels like she's just passing time considering how much she had gone through in her lifetime. However, Michelle Williams is an odyssey to behold as the legendary actress, one in which if she continues with performances like this, she will be well on her way to becoming one herself.