My Week with Marilyn
Directed by Simon Curtis
- drama
- romance
The story
London, 1956. Genius actor and film director Laurence Olivier is about to begin the shooting of his upcoming movie, premiered in 1957 as The Prince and the Showgirl, starring Marilyn Monroe. Young Colin Clark, who dreams on having a career in movie business, manages to get a job on the set as third assistant director.
What it’s like
Soft English summer light and warm, theatrical interiors give this period piece a golden, faded-postcard look, with the grounded calm of the countryside sitting against the bright artifice of a studio set. The camera stays close and observant, lingering on rehearsal rooms, dressing tables and quiet corridors, while the costumes and production design carry the 1950s glamour in pastel tones and polished wood. The score is gentle and wistful, mostly piano and strings, and the pace is unhurried, moving between backstage tension and tender, intimate moments. Its tone is bittersweet and nostalgic, a warm melancholy about fame, loneliness and the gap between a public image and a private person. Light in intensity, with no violence, and the only sexual content is implied rather than shown. Suited to a slow weekend afternoon, a rainy evening in, or anyone drawn to films about filmmaking, old Hollywood and tender, imperfect friendships.
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