Visual information was a long time coming with My Week With Marilyn, but now at last the trailer for the film has arrived giving us a peek at Michelle Williams as Hollywood's most famous blonde bombshell and the story of a diversion with a reporter during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl.
Dougray Scott and Michelle Williams as Mr & Mrs Arthur Miller
In the trailer we see lots of Michelle as Marilyn and a pissy Sir Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier. Judi Dench seems starstruck, Dominic Cooper annoyed, and Eddie Redmayne appropriately in over his head as the young man she takes up with. Let's break it down. Do we wanna see it and why?
Breakdown and full trailer after the jump.
YES
- After Blue Valentine, Meek's Cutoff, Wendy & Lucy and Brokeback Mountain,we know Michelle Williams can do depression better than just about anyone (which is to say with lots of range and fascination rather than a dull droning "me sad") but won't it be nice to see her stretch to play someone more bipolar... someone with effervescence?
- Branagh meets Olivier sounds like a match made in cinema heaven, even if you aren't fans of either.
- Actually the whole cast has promise.
- Should be fun to see bits of or allusions to scenes from The Prince and the Showgirl. Especially if you like pictures about showbiz. (Duh, I do.)
NO
- "I wouldn't buy the little girl lost act if I were you"... Any chance this movie will take its own advice. Because with Marilyn Monroe there's always the danger of been there done that... nobody having anything new to say about her. So many films have been made about her or used her legend for effect.
All people ever see is Marilyn Monroe."
MAYBE SO
- What are the chances we could get a moving and multi-layered meta movie about an actress doing another actress who was always doing herself? "Shall I do her?" Performed identity is an inherently fascinating thing but let's not get carried away. It's not as if Charlie Kauffman wrote it.
- Maybe I'm too familiar with Marilyn Monroe's voice but I'm not quite understanding what Michelle Williams is doing with it. Or if she's just not getting it. I normally don't need mimicry but with someone so familiar it can be distracting if it's not perfect. And I know that Oscar attention isn't a total barometer of quality (especially with acting) but the AMPAS voters need mimicry a lot more than I do. If it's not right won't they shun it?
- Glossy glossy glossy. Will it feel like a piece of Hollywood lore that's been perfectly preserved in amber or like a giant commercial for itself?
Here's the full trailer..
Are you a Yes No Maybe So?
But more specifically, divvy it up by actors, won't you? This one's all about the "star" and thus the stars. If you're a Marilyn fan, how do you feel about seeing her portrayed again?