MY WEEK WITH MARILYN - Film Review

"First love can be such despair."
Dame Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike

I'm not sure if it's because I love film history. Or because I currently find myself falling for someone way outside my league. But Simon Curtis' new film "My Week With Marilyn" was just about one of the best films I believe I'll see all year.

Part historical document, part coming-of-age story, this beautiful work of non-fiction stars the wonderful Michelle Williams as the radiant Marilyn Monroe and Eddie Redmayne as Colin Clark the still wet-behind-the-ears third assistant on Sir Lawrence Olivier's (Kenneth Branagh) 1957 directorial effort "The Prince and the Showgirl." Like most of the world, then and now, Colin falls in love with Miss Monroe on first sight. But unlike most of us, Colin's admiration gets to extend beyond the silver screen.

Rita Hayworth was famous for saying of men who courted her attention that "they go to bed with Gilda, but wake up with me." The point being of course that people fall in love with the legend, not the woman. And that the woman herself in inevitably a disappointment. In the case of Marilyn Monroe, the real Norma Jean was so racked with insecurities that she spent her life trying to fill the void left by the gaping hole which should have easily been filled by a self confidence to match other's adulation. She tried to fill the void with drugs. With men. Already one of the most famous "stars" on the planet, she still clamored for the respect that is afforded to great "actresses" knowing full well that being a star and being a great actress are hardly the same thing. Yet, as much as she pushed for artistic respect, the world pushed back with it's own expectation. She was a sexpot, pure and simple. And try as she might, the world at large refused to accept her as anything else. At one point during the film, a bewildered Lawrence Olivier, exhausted from the effort it takes simply to deal with Monroe's eccentricities blurts out what was just beneath the surface on the mind of many, "why don't you just be sexy. Isn't that what you do?"

To a certrain degree, he was right. That is what she was known for. But the real Marilyn was so much more.

Of course, there's always the question of who really was "the real Marilyn." And trying to get at the heart of that point is the brilliantly layered portrayal by Michelle Williams. I suspect Miss Williams, about the same age now as the real Marilyn Monroe in the film's timeframe, knows all too well the trappings of being a actress in Hollywood. Introduced to much of the world as Jen Lindley in the soapy teeny bopper TV drama "Dawson's Creek," Miss Williams film career has been far more ecclectic. A notable sense of risk marks her choices as an actress. Whether playing the loving wife of real life husband Heath Ledger in the drama "Brokeback Mountain," or matching Ryan Gosling's brilliance step-for-step in last year's bitter sweet romance "Blue Valentine," Miss Williams is clearly one for bold choices. And she makes all the right choices here playing Marilyn Monroe. Her Marilyn is sexy yet vulnerable. You want to reach out and cradle her in your arms. Yet, at the same time, you begin to suspect that the vulnerability itself may too be part of the act. A concious way of drawing in new protectors. Of filling the void. Olivier points out in the movie that no actress, no matter who she is, gets to the level of success that Marilyn achieved without a certain level of strength. She may seem to the outside world to be all over the map, but don't think for a second that she doesn't know exactly what she's doing.

Matching Miss Williams in the tight rope act necessary for portraying real life people in a fictional world is a tremendous supporting cast. Kenneth Branagh sparkles as the aforementioned Sir Lawrence Olivier. He's able to play Olivier's incredible vanity without allowing him to become a caricature. Olivier has an ego for sure. He's the most acclaimed actor in the history of the English stage, who wouldn't like themself in that situation. But he's as smitten with Marilyn as the rest of us. Even if she does drive him to the point of insanity. Dame Judi Dench plays the less well known Dame Sybil Thorndike. She portrays her with the necessary English stoicism, but also with a knowing warmth. She serves as both Marilyn's co-star and protector. Even more of a protector than those claiming to be the title bearers of the position, her manager Milton Greene (Dominic Cooper) and personal acting teacher Paula Strasberg (Zoe Wanamaker). Both see Marilyn more as a meal-ticket than human being. Yet still, the film is wise enough to allow each their own moments to suggest they too once had their own week with Marilyn at one point that affects their actions.

As for the current one-weeker, Colin Clark, Mr. Redmayne plays him with such wide-eyed optimism that we never have a moment to doubt his intention. Marilyn flies into his heart with reckless abandon, and he returns to her his affection with the furvor reserved for those just learning what it means to be in love. He cares for her nakedly and openly. Unafraid of being hurt, he pursues her without fear, which I suppose is evidence of a life yet to be lived. At one point, Lucy, a costume designer on the production played by Emma Watson, asks if Marilyn has broken his heart. Why does she ask? "Because it needs breaking."

I guess maybe this adage is as true in real life as in this movie. Sometimes we need to be hurt to know what it is that we are missing.

One thing that is for sure is that you shouldn't miss this film. A wonderful picture sure to be a major factor come awards season. And a loving reminder that first love can feel so good. And hurt so bad.

New Fashion Photography Series With Kelly Cunningham

Got to shoot a fashion series with the beautiful Kelly Cunningham over the weekend. You can check out some of the images at my website.

www.christophermalcolmphotography.com

THE DESCENDANTS - Movie Review

Alexander Payne makes average movies.

And that’s a good thing.

Maybe, more accurately, he makes brilliant movies spun from the webs of average lives. More than any other director, he celebrates the seemingly mundane. A drug addict considering an abortion. A high school election. A retiree going to his daughter’s wedding. A trip to wine country. And now the story of a grieving father trying to hold together a family he himself has been disconnected from for far too long.

None of these are the scenarios from which Hollywood blockbusters are made. None of these concepts scream out to the creatively challenged corporate board members that now run movie studios that they demand to be released. But somehow Payne continues to get them made. Each one better than the last. Plugging away at the mundane. And in the process, creating the miraculous.

How does he do this? Simple, he can write. Not the paint-by-numbers anybody can be a screenwriter kind of typing mostly done in this town. No, Alexander Payne can write. He creates compelling central characters and is able to see them through deceivingly difficult journeys.

And Matt King’s journey is no less trying.

Played with spectacular honesty by the consistently entertaining George Clooney, Matt’s life is thrown into turmoil in the opening minutes. After his thrill seeking wife is badly injured during a speedboat race, he is suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar role. Father. A strange thing to say about the parent of two young girls. But you see, Matt, as he describes himself, is “the back-up parent.” Like many fathers, he brings home the bacon, but leaves the parental heavy lifting to his wife. So when suddenly appointed the main caregiver, Matt has to quickly adjust to the new demands.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to be a good father. He just doesn’t know how. And life is made both easier and incredibly more difficult by his daughters, especially his eldest daughter Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) who is at the age where she’s no longer a child, yet not quite an adult. Capable of carrying responsibility but not yet emotionally prepared to process all that comes with it.
It’s Matt’s relationship with Alexandra that is at the heart of the film. A shaky relationship that is tested by unexpected events that make average lives into compelling entertainment.

Speaking of average lives, it’s worth pointing out that while Alexander Payne’s protagonists would often be considered side characters in most big budget bonanzas, they often find a way of being played by some of the biggest actors in Hollywood. Clooney, Broderick, Witherspoon, and Nicholson aren’t exactly names to sniff at. But perhaps his greatest skill as a director is being able to make these superstars seem somewhat… ordinary. Off screen, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who would think George Clooney could ever have trouble with women. But on screen, you suddenly believe that Matt King could face such a dilemma.

This is due to the major talents of the underrated George Clooney. Yes, he’s famous. Yes, he’s an international superstar. But sometimes I don’t think he gets enough credit for simply being a tremendous actor. Like the stars of the studio system like Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, or Clark Gable, Clooney is well aware of his brand. You are always able to get a small glimpse of George behind the veneer or any of his characters. But, like a seasoned character actor, he’s also able to sink so deeply into a role that you believe for a minute that he is that person.
And “that person,” flawed and humane, strong but weak, honest and vulnerable, and yes average, is what makes “The Descendants” such a terrific film.

It’s a story about everyday people doing their best to make it through each day. After all, isn’t that all any of us are trying to do. And perhaps that’s why this film is so affecting and so worth the price of admission.