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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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My Week With Marilyn (Film)

by Joshua Blackman | February 13, 2012 12:31 | Edited February 13, 2012 12:36

An enjoyably lightweight snapshot into the life of the iconic screen siren who Michelle Williams brings to life in a brilliantly effortless performance.

As daunting a prospect as it is to take on the role of a screen icon, Michelle Williams makes it look easy in this frothy concoction of old Hollywood and young love. In spirit and story, My Week With Marilyn is the cinematic cousin of Richard Linklater's superior Me And Orson Welles from 2008, another film which looked at a cinema giant through the eyes of a young man. My Week With Marilyn doesn't quite reach those modest heights, but is still a hugely enjoyable slice of wish-fulfillment drama, reportedly based on a true story, with a tremendous central performance from Williams as the famous screen siren.

 

Williams - who doesn't quite have the curves, but nails everything else - embodies all sides of the nebulous Marilyn Monroe, the superstar from the fifties who was plagued with personal problems. Her drug dependence and unpredictability causes chaos in the production of the peculiar 1957 drama, The Prince And The Showgirl, and frays the nerves of her director/co-star, Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh having loads of fun). Despite being married to playwright Arthur Miller, Monroe also takes a fancy to a young, impressionable assistant, Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), who looks up to her in innocent awe.

 

Monroe seemingly had no formal capacity for acting, despite being shepherded by the oppressive Method Acting teacher, Paula Strasberg (Zoë Wanamaker), but when she was on, she was on, and Williams effortlessly replicates her mannerisms with seductive ease. She also captures some of her raw sexiness and plenty of her debilitating vulnerability - the kind that still makes people's heads spin. My Week With Marilyn, directed efficiently by TV veteran Simon Curtis, skims this and other known facets of her character with a light, often funny, touch, which is probably the right approach for a star who is still so universally idealised and revered.