My Week With Marilyn

Well I don't know how much of this was true but here's an article in the Daily Mail which has an extract from Colin Clark's account: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2054116/Marilyn-Monroe-Colin-Clark-recalls-relationship-Hollywood-legend.html So if you believe Colin Clark, and trust his recollections (Philip French didn't – see his review below), then it was all true. Either way it was a great piece of drama with  some very  moving moments and, I noticed, quite a few moist eyes in the audience.

A great film to kick off 2013. The feedback scores were good - of 38 feedback forms we had 18 As, 15 Bs, 3 Cs and 2 Ds. The overall rating was 86%.

Did anyone see “The Prince and the Showgirl” on TV over Christmas? It was on BBC2 as part of their “Screen Goddesses” season. It's a very funny film and Marilyn was terrific. Although it got mixed reviews at the time.

That film was based on Terence Rattigan's play “The Sleeping Prince” - which had played in the West End and starred Olivier with Vivien Leigh as the showgirl. Marilyn Monroe bought the rights to the play and employed Rattigan to adapt and Olivier to direct it. So Olivier was actually working for Monroe!

There's lot's of stuff on-line. See below for some interesting links.

Here's what our audience had to say about it:

A	Thoroughly enjoyable. Great acting.
A	Lovely, fantastic performances. Gorgeous to look at. Funny and warm. I'm going to get this for my mum!
A	A showcase for British talent on top form. Excellent performance by Michelle Williams too.
A	A very moving film depicting what a tortured life she led and never finding her self worth.
A	A very enjoyable film, showing the other side of the acting world
A	Captured the turmoil.
A
A
A	A beautiful film. Superb acting – delicate and sensitive.
A	Good cast – enjoyable biop
A	Very absorbing + entertaining.
A	Funny, tragic, absorbing + enlightening
A
A
A	Lovely film. Excellent performances all round. Impossible to be MM – but Michelle W did a great job!
A
A
A
B
B	A quite moving film. Stellar performance from the leading lady. Full marks to Kenneth Branagh too, and an amazing supporting cast.
B	Light and engaging comedy. Liked Michelle Williams' performance: as luminous as Marilyn herself.
B	All star cast. Hope the facts of this fairy tale are true.
B	Very well cast + photographed. Captured the moment beautifully.
B	Michelle Williams acts everyone off the screen – except Judi Dench
B	A very vulnerable personality. Well portrayed.
B
B	Marilyn a very immature, vulnerable adult – a very good portrait of her in the film.
B	Very enjoyable. My first time. I will come again.
B
B
B
B
B
C	Very pleasant. Some good humour.
C	Enjoyable, well acted but rather clichéd
C	More enjoyable than I expected.
D
D

On-line:

Peter Bradshaw  in The Guardian (4 stars):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/nov/24/my-week-with-marilyn-review

An interesting and enthusiastic review by Philip French in the Observer:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/nov/27/my-week-marilyn-french-review

IMDB users gave it 7.0 out of 10: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1655420/

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating 72%:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_week_with_marilyn/ 

25-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-prince-and-the-showgirl:
http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/12/01/25-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-prince-and-the-showgirl/