Phil sees MY WEEK WITH MARILYN at the CineArts Theatre Santanna Row-November 27, 2011

For the third and final film I saw on Sunday, I headed over to the CineArts Theatre located in Santanna Row. It was a cool, crisp night; the perfect night to go see a movie! So with this in mind, I went and saw MY WEEK WITH MARILYN which is based on two books by Collin Clark, the man who had his first love with the legendary Monroe.

Theatrical Movie Poster (2011)

The film takes place in the early summer of 1956, and a young 23 year-old named Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) is working as an 3rd assistant director (i.e. gopher) on the British set of THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL, the film that famously paired Sir Lawrence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) and Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams), who was also on honeymoon with her new husband, playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott). When Miller leaves the country, Clark introduces Monroe to British life and they spend a week together, during which time she escapes from her Hollywood routine and the pressures of work. But when young Clark falls in love with Mrs. Monroe, she reminds him that she's married and will not give up being a film star for him.

As previously mentioned, the film is based on Colin's two books: The Prince, the Showgirl and Me was published in 1996, based on his diary account nearly 40 years after completion of the film. However, there was one week that was missing from his first book. Then in the year 2000, that missing week come to light in the form of My Week with Marilyn. The book received harsh criticism from both readers and fans of Monroe, who bashed and berated Colin's book, citing that it's filled with utter lies and rubbish. Whether if Colin's story is true or not, some people found it fascinating, and thought it would make a good movie.

While the film is simply wonderful, it is Williams' performance as Monroe that's really outstanding. She really channels Marilyn into her performance, and when you watch her in the film, you're not watching Williams; you're watching Marilyn Monroe walk. You're watching Marilyn Monroe talk, and act, and sing, and dance. But also we see Marlyn when she's depressed, sad, overwhelmed, and doped up on pills. The range of emotions the Williams' goes through to perfect the Blonde Goddess herself is just astounding! She even looks like Marilyn! Look for Williams' name at Oscar time, because she so deserves to be nominated after giving this compelling performance!

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN is a marvelous and amazing film, a vibrant and reveling story of not just film history, but of first love. A must see for all fans of Monroe or of film history. Two very big thumbs up!

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN is currently playing in select theaters nationwide, including the CineArts Theatre here in San Jose. To view showtimes, visit their website at http://cinemark.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!