When I first saw that a film was made based on Marilyn Monroe, I was really excited. I've always been a fan of her movies and intrigued by her as a person. The movie was portrayed as a true story, but I'm always skeptical of whether or not a movie is actually based on a true story. However, I did a little research after seeing the movie, and it does seem quite accurate. The movie is based on a journal written by Colin Clark who was the third assistant to the director on the film set of The Prince and The Showgirl in 1957 and who eventually fell in love with Marilyn. First off, Michelle Williams played Marilyn Monroe and I really thought I was watching Marilyn. Michelle Williams pulled off the role flawlessly, portraying Marilyn Monroe as the sex symbol and suberb actress the world fell in love with, and still showing the undeniably insecure and scared women she kept hidden.
To briefly summarize the movie, Marilyn is the star of The Prince and the Showgirl, but consistently shows up late to set and relies heavily on her acting coach Paula. While she is known for her brillant acting, those moments don't come easily during filming and Marilyn is constantly fumbling along. She is almost like a small child, needing to be constantly reassured she is amazing. When she does pull it together though, she produces the most amazing and awe inspiring scenes and the audience can truely see why the world was captivated by Marilyn Monroe in the first place. And it is easy to see how every man falls in love with her. Colin becomes Marilyn's "life line" and they fall in love with each other.
In the beginning of the movie, I was pretty turned off by Marilyn Monroe. I thought she was needy and nothing like the woman portrayed to the public. She wasn't the confident woman I thought she was. And then the movie started developing more and she fell in love with Colin and you learned all she wanted was to be loved. That need crippled her. Even though she had men falling in love with her left and right because of the image she portrayed to the world, the confident, sex kitten side was just a facade to hide her true self. The deeply insecure side of her made her more relatable to people, rather then the sex kitten side. It showed that she was human.
All in all, I thought the movie was fantastic. Two thumbs up.
