W. E. - Die Romanze des Jahrhunderts

"W.E." had one hell of an uphill battle. Not only is it a period piece, but the film is also written and directed by the one woman in the world that makes people pass judgement before even experiencing her work. That woman is Madonna.

The film tells the tale of the infamously scandalous affair of King Edward VIII (aka David) and Wallis Simpson for whom, in the 1930s, he gave up everything for, even abdicating the throne of England. Being a twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson was a woman the monarchy would never accept, and because of that, David left everything behind for love. The film concurrently takes us back to 1998 and Wally Winsthrop, a woman who was named after Ms. Simpson by her Wallis-obsessed mother and who also finds herself in a marriage that is not living up to the magic she expected it to be, a fact which is brought more to life by the flirtations of a Russian security guard she encounters at an auction of the Windsor Estate at Sotheby's.

I can honestly say that, despite being an enormous fan of most of Madonna's artistic endeavours, I was not sure how this film would play out. But you know what? It's a good film. First of all, it takes the perspective of Wallis Simpson in telling the first story, which goes against the norm. Secondly, the interweaving of the two completely different time periods is extremely well done, incredibly edited, and manages to keeps you invested in both stories equally. And most surprisingly, it was an entertaining history lesson: Not only do you learn of this hugely publicized affair but the film, in a way, is almost like a prequel to last year's powerhouse, "The King's Speech," as that film focuses on Bertie, David's brother, who had to take over the throne once David renounced it.

The film is not perfect, but as Madonna's second attempt at directing, you have to give her credit. Something many critics just refuse to do. No, the script is far from genius, but it's far from awful. The film is visually beautiful to watch and the integration of regular filming and documentary-style graininess makes for an interesting watch. Then there is the exquisite costumes for which this film is nominated for an Academy Award...and has a good chance at winning. And the performances, all of which are good. Andrea Risborough ("Made in Dagenham," "Happy Go Lucky") gives a strong turn, if not slightly off kilter at times, as Wallis Simpson. James D'Arcy is at times whimsical yet stoic as the terribly handsome King Edward. Abbie Cornish ("Limitless") is close to heartbreaking as the suffering Wally Winthrop and Richard Coyle ("Prince of Persia") gives a great performance as Wally's emotionally absent husband. And then there is Oscar Isaac, also in the Oscar-nominated "Drive," as the incredibly handsome and sweet Russian who perks up each time Wally is around.

No, "W.E." is not brilliant, but it's far better than you might expect, Madonna proving to be a far better director than anyone might give her credit for. And if you just love her for her music, the Golden-Globe winning "Masterpiece" plays along the closing credits. Although I have always preferred her musical endeavours over her cinematic attempts, this attempt is one she can definitely be proud of.

W.E. (2011)

Don't even think about who directed this. Think of it as a multi-layered, multi-era epic centering on the marriage of King Edward and his American love, Wallis Simpson. He's the English king who abdicated for love. But this is the story of the love, Wallis, the woman who gave up as much as the king did, or so the thrust of the movie suggests.

It's rather good! It mixes a bit of fantasizing with a contemporary woman, Wally, finding her obsession with the Wallis of history (1930s) is more than coincidence. The narrative flips between several parts of the royal story before WWII and the contemporary version, which includes a budding relationship with a guard at an exhibition of Wallis Simpson memorabilia.

Whether you find either story convincing doesn't matter. One of them is of course based on history, and is interesting if you don't already know the facts. The other is an echo of the same, with the woman having to become strong and independent just as her earlier namesake did.

What is most interesting is the way the two stories are inter-spliced, including some scenes where the two times zones are mixed (apparently in Wally's head, but it's very real to the audience). We start to see how often and completely women are stuck in situations they would not choose if they knew ahead of time. It's about independence, yes, but also failure to be independent and the consequences. And maybe it's about learning a little from history.

The director? Madonna. Yes, the singer from Michigan. The director of the terrible bomb "Filth and Wisdom." Here there is some real cinematic intelligence. It's a good movie. Flawed, a bit longer than it needs to be, a bit forced in the layering of stories, but well acted and conceived.

I will not be revealing any spoilers. I just want to highlight the fact that I can now confirm for myself that critics are jaded and they will write off anything Madonna does in the film business. That is not to say most of her previous works weren't dismal at best, but I always felt they weren't as bad as critics bashed.

However, we're here to discuss W.E. A film that Madonna does not star in and that may just be the brilliance of it all. I screened it last night after winning a contest and I must say, as a Madonna fan, I walked in with the assumption that I wouldn't like the movie but I would search for little things that I could enjoy and emphasize those things. That had to be the last thing in the world I did once the film commenced. Even in the same room with Madonna and other fashionistas, celebrities and artists, I completely forgot where I was and I soon found myself captivated by the story.

The intertwining of the old and new, historical loosely based romance with a modern romance, music old and new was brilliantly executed by Madonna. The film really emphasized how the general public scrutinize public figures and demonize others without a clear understanding of who they are and how politics can destroy the chance of love and how King Edward would ultimately not have that.

Intertwined with the modern tale of a New York City woman who's fascinated by the story, there are flashbacks that go through the delicate history of the royal family in the particular time that Wallis Simpson, then married, met King Edward.. It is not a fact-by-fact story. It is an attempt to take a look at things from a different perspective because after all there are two sides to every story, if not more than two sides.

Although set design, location and costume design were unbelievable, I will not speak further on it because critics said that that was the only thing good about the film so I'll let that speak for itself.

Every character was played and executed brilliantly and it was just a captivating story from beginning to end. I take pride in my love for Madonna but I also take pride in my love for film and I walked in knowing I wouldn't lie to myself. If I liked it, I liked it. If I loved it, then so be it. If I hated it, oh well.

Fortunately, I found that everyone in the audience was pleasantly surprised, almost as if they were cheering on the fact that it will be seen for what it is. That no one has to defend it. Leave it to the film-goer to make that desicion.

The camera work was beautiful, slow but intermixed with a haunting score and pivotal performances. I really hope people watch it with an open mind and forget Madonna directed it. At least until the credits roll and her new song Masterpiece begins and you remember why we love Madonna in the first place. Her music is profound and the song Masterpiece is a beautiful closer to the film.

After the film, everyone was energized and the buzz carried out into the halls where people stood discussing the film. I can't wait to re-watch it with my friends on Friday for its limited release and then once more at opening night on February 3rd.

I will be buying this film for my DVD collection. It's worth it and that's more than I thought I'd ever say about it.

***1/2(out of 5)

The cross-cutting between 2 timelines and locations for no apparent reason was not only confusing, it was also annoying. By the time we got into the story proper, I was so ticked off I didn't care about any of the characters, quite apart from the fact that I couldn't work out what was going on. This is definitely one of those "look-at-my-filmmaking-skillz" types of films, which makes it so hard to watch and enjoy. This is the first film by Madonna I have watched and will almost certainly be my last.

W.E. is one of three biopics I have seen this year, after The Iron Lady and J Edgar. Of the three I think W.E. is probably the best, but all three tread the path of the mediocre. What W.E. gets right is Wallis Simpson, Riseborough is fantastic in the lead role and has great chemistry with James D'Arcy. The biggest problem with the film is the the second tier of the romance with Abbie Cornish's Wally Winthrop, though the romance picks up momentum around the one hour mark, it slows down the pace of the Wallis Simpson segments.

The script has high and low notes, the romance at times is reduced sappiness, but these are forgivable even when they are at there worst. What is probably the biggest weakness in W.E. is the often used close up hand held camera shots. The occasional one works nicely, but these shots are put in far too often and take you out of the story. In most cases the camera work could have been more simplistic, it too often feels erratic which isn't good in the more tender moments of the film.

The music in W.E. is beautiful and the addition of "Masterpiece" in the credits is a lovely song to go side by side with the film. However sometimes the music is a little over powering, once again just a case of less is more. The much discussed and derided scene with Wallis dancing the Charleston with a tribesman to The Sex Pistols "pretty Vacant", I really liked. I felt the scene was a fun and good way to show how frivolous the character could be, using the modern day Wally's imagination to keep the scene from feeling alien.

Undoubtedly the best part of W.E. is the costume and lighting. The attention to detail in this department is incredible. Every costume looks stunning and is meticulously put together down to the nearest diamond, and the lighting makes the landscapes almost feel like paintings it really is stunning.

All in all W.E. is a great attempt from Madonna to craft a stunning looking film, though the storytelling can be muddled and the film takes around 40 minutes to really get going, its once again forgivable. Historical inaccuracies put aside would have made this film a 7, but not exploring the Nazi element could have made this so much more interesting. The negative reviews of this film aren't looking at it from fair perspective and anyone with half a brain can see though not amazing, W.E. is at least half decent and for a directors second film pretty damn good.