tearose312

My Week with Marilyn tells the story, seen through the eyes of young Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), of the making of The Prince and the Showgirl, the film version of a Terence Rattigan play starring Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Olivier who also served as the director. Michelle Williams portrays one of the great icons of American cinema and captures the little girl lost quality that drove Sir Larry to near madness even as he marveled at the way the camera loved her. Kenneth Branagh has nailed Sir Larry at a vulnerable point in his career as he attempts to deal with the profoundly damaged screen goddess. We see Olivier fuming over Marilyn's legendary tardiness and her reliance on her acting coach Paula Strasberg (Zoe Wanamaker.) Mr. Branagh's performance is remarkable and provides a brilliant counterpoint to Miss Williams's Marilyn -- they appear as creatures from two different planets. Dame Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike tries to run interference between the supernovas.

One of the pleasures of this film is seeing the plethora of British actors who pop up in small roles, among them Philip Jackson (Poirot's Inspector Japp) as Marilyn's fatherly body guard and Michael Kitchen (Foyle's War) as a film producer -- also Pip Torrens, Toby Jones, Simon Russell Beale, Jim Carter, Dominic Cooper, Richard Clifford, Gerald Horan, David Rintoul, Sir Derek Jacobi and lots more. In addition we get to hear Nat King Cole sing Autumn Leaves. Delightful.

In this splendid new HBO film about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his wife Eleanor says to him, "You have done a brilliant thing here, a magnificent thing." She's speaking of his work at Warm Springs, the polio rehabilitation center in Georgia, but the same can be said for Kenneth Branagh's charismatic portrayal of America's almost legendary president, who was elected four times and died in office in 1945. So many fine comments have been made about the film that I won't go over the same ground. It has obviously been created with love and care -- the production values are top notch, the screenplay and direction are strong. The casting could not been better -- there's not a weak performance in it, down to the smallest role. Mr. Branagh leads a superb company which includes Cynthia Nixon, David Paymer, Kathy Bates, Jane Alexander -- I add a special word for Tim Blake Nelson who gives a heartbreaking performance as the manager of Warm Springs. I can't imagine anyone who would fail to enjoy this film. Bravo, HBO!

In reply to someone who questioned whether or not Ronald Colman was as handsome as people say, I add a resounding YES! He has real Hollywood Golden Age glamour. I don't have a lot to add to what other fans of Prisoner of Zenda have said, but it is a classic romantic swashbuckler. It is far superior to the remake with Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr. I love seeing Ronald Colman shake hands with Ronald Colman. I also love the scene when Colman enters the cathedral for his coronation -- he is every inch a king and no one would guess he is an imposter -- however, you sense that he is walking into a place he has never been before. Now that is subtle acting. If you haven't seen it, you are in for a real treat. The men, led by Colman, are all magnificent.