Critique # 2

It takes a level of talent to really bring actual moments from the past to life. Especially when one wasn't actually there to see the events take place themselves. Simply using just photos, films stills and diary accounts; the film "My Week with Marilyn" gives you a glimpse of what life was like for the Iconic Marilyn Monroe. The three elements of theatre that really stood out to me from this film were acting, cotume design, and writing.

For the first element; the acting really stood out to me. Michelle Williams was the actress that played and starred as Marilyn Monroe. Williams did a very convincing job portraying Monroe. It was intriguing to witness the acting within the acting. Apparently in the film Monroe was working on a film  "The Prince And The Showgirl"; there were times she used method acting for the character she was playing. At first it was a bit confusing only because I wasn't entirely paying attention. Eventually it started making more sense. Eddie Redmayne played Colin; the level of chemistry between him and Williams was impeccable. Williams' accents were spot on. It does come across that Williams may have used "Method Acting" herself for the film in general. She was her (Monroe).

The writing was the second element that stood out to me. This film was written by Adrian Hodges. It was pretty impressive on Hodges' end to translate a diary account(s) into a film. The writer was able to let the viewer get a  pretty clear idea who Marilyn Monroe was; without the film having to be an autobiography. Although I haven't read the original diary (ies) of that particular week; It was pretty creative for Hodges' to tell the story of that week how it acually happened. It was as if you were there The details was there to see without having to be narrated. I mentioned narration because I presumed that's how the original story of that week was told.
 The costume design was the third  element that really stood out to me. Jill Taylor was the costume designer. She was able to tackle the challenge of replicating some of the original outfits that Monroe wore; for Williams. Although due to budget and size differences (between Monroe and Williams), the outfits weren't an exact replica. The appearance was there and Williams' sold the outfits onscreen. Taylor used photos from the actual events as references. From men’s shirts, pencil skirts, chiffon scarves, dark glasses, etc Taylor really pulled it off.


Therefore this film was an A+. Actual awards and nominations proved it to be as well. The actors, designers and writer really pulled it off. I would recommend to anyone who haven't seen it to take a gander.