"Under that old black magic..."

Can you imagine being approached to play the role of one of the most iconic people to have ever lived?  It seems like your body would give off a force field of automatic rejection, knowing the scary world of internet comments and harsh criticism that inevitably would await.  Michelle Williams must have been able to swiftly set all that aside, knowing that she would be able to embody Marilyn Monroe in her own way, liberating her mind from public perceptions and the pressure of doing justice to such a beloved figure.  It shows you that an actor, if given the right vehicle, a good script, and the company of a gifted cast and crew, can sometimes find an undeniable quality that makes their performance jump off the screen.  In films like "Blue Valentine", "Wendy and Lucy", and even in smaller roles like "Shutter Island" or "The Station Agent", Williams has always taken her character's situation and life and turned it into something that a viewer can wholeheartedly believe.

In "My Week with Marilyn", it's the connection within her eyes that lets us into Marilyn's soul.  She is Marilyn and she has succeeded at this portrayal through means beyond mere impersonation.  She takes on qualities of Marilyn's voice, body language, mannerisms and demeanor, and brings the necessary spark that allows the viewer to float away to spend this week with her and Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne).   The audience is shown many different Marilyns.  The woman behind the scenes of the film "The Prince and the Showgirl" who fails to connect under the direction Sir Laurence Olivier ( Kenneth Branagh), the celebrity the public adores, and the vulnerable Marilyn who struggles with her inner demons.  Surprisingly, the young Colin is given access to all of these worlds for the short time they spend together.  It's the bond to the characters Michelle Williams plays on screen that draws me in every time to her work.  This is the type of film that is why I enjoy going to the movies.  It will never become old for me to see an actor connect on a level that is truly transcendent.  I may have been transported for just a week of time in Marilyn's world, but it's a place I will enjoy revisiting in the future.  I know I owe a lot of my love of this film to the romantic in me, who like Colin, often wishes we could hold onto the truly magical memories we experience for a lifetime.  Toward the end of the film, Judi Dench's kind Dame Sybil Thorndike tells Colin, "First love is such sweet despair."  Isn't that the truth.