London, 1956. Genius actor and film director Laurence Olivier is about to begin the shooting of his upcoming movie, premiered in 1957 as The Prince and the Showgirl, starring Marilyn Monroe. Young Colin Clark, who dreams on having a career in movie business, manages to get a job on the set as third assistant director.
Michelle Williams
Marilyn Monroe
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Laurence Olivier
Eddie Redmayne
Colin Clark
Dominic Cooper
Milton Greene
Philip Jackson
Roger Smith
Derek Jacobi
Sir Owen Morshead
Toby Jones
Arthur Jacobs
Michael Kitchen
Hugh Perceval
Julia Ormond
Vivien Leigh
Simon Russell Beale
Cotes-Preedy
Dougray Scott
Arthur Miller
Zoë Wanamaker
Paula Strasberg
Emma Watson
Lucy
Judi Dench
Dame Sybil Thorndike
Jim Carter
Barry
Richard Clifford
Richard Wattis
Robert Portal
David Orton
Pip Torrens
Sir Kenneth Clark
Geraldine Somerville
Lady Jane Clark
Miranda Raison
Vanessa
Karl Moffatt
Jack Cardiff
Victor McGuire
Andy
Richard Attlee
Reporter #1
Michael Hobbs
Reporter #2
Brooks Livermore
Reporter #3
Rod O'Grady
Reporter #4
Gerard Horan
Trevor
Alex Lowe
Denys Coop
Georgie Glen
Rosamund Greenwood
Richard Shelton
Waiter
Peter Wight
Lucy's Father
Paul Herzberg
Paul Hardwick
James Clay
Jeremy Spenser
Des McAleer
Senior Policeman
Jem Wall
Spectator
Ben Sando
Schoolboy #1
Josh Morris
Schoolboy #2
David Rintoul
Dr. Connell
Sean Vanderwilt
Male Dancer #1
Adam Perry
Male Dancer #2
Director
Simon Curtis
Book
Colin Clark
Screenplay
Adrian Hodges
July 10, 2024
7
I reckon this might be my favourite effort from Michelle Williams as she plays the eponymous screen legend who arrives in the UK to play opposite Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) in "The Prince and the Showgirl". Meantime, budding writer Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) is desparate to get into the film industry and so has been doorstepping producer Hugh Perceval (Michael Kitchen) for ages. Eventually, he gets a foot in the door the a chance introduction to Sir Larry leads to another one with Monroe and soon young Clark finds himself tasked with keeping this increasingly flaky woman on message as it's fair to say that her methods are not quite as rigorous or disciplined as those of her co-star. If you've seen the 1957 film, you'll know that it possibly isn't anyone's finest hour - except, perhaps, for Dame Sybil Thorndyke who here portrayed by Dame Judi Dench offers the American visitor some semblance of understanding and tolerance as tempers fray and the relationship between Colin and Marilyn starts to intensify. The narrative is based on Clark's two books on the subject, so it does offer us quite an authentic and sensitive insight into just how that one week padded out; how these contrasting personalities and their working practices struggled to reconcile and Williams looks entirely comfortable as the troubled actress as does the uncannily made-up Branagh as an Olivier all too used to getting his own way. Redmayne makes surprisingly little impact - perhaps because his character must remain objective as a narrator and not unsurprisingly Clark wasn't keen on embellishing his own role - intimate or not - with Monroe. Both she and Olivier are fascination creatures in cinema history and this biopic presents us with a glimpse of just how creative clashes can result in a positive spark.