My Week with Marilyn
It may sound silly to fault the star of a Marilyn Monroe biopic for not being Marilyn Monroe, but I feel like my biggest criticism of this film would have to be Michelle Williams' portrayal of Marilyn Monroe . My criticism is rendered even more ridiculous-sounding because I cannot fault Williams on any particular acting decision unless I fault her on all of them at once - and my criticism is this: Michelle Williams absolutely does not have the charm/charisma/fascination that was Marilyn's defining attribute. And this obviously isn't her fault; I can't name a living actress who possesses the luminous allure that made Marilyn famous. But the film as a whole suffers fatally from this lack: the other actors do their jobs and do them well, but everything rests upon the portrayal of Marilyn. When Michelle Williams does her sexy dance and the kittenish Marilyn stage personality it seems tawdry and vulgar rather than enchanting and attractive, and when she portrays Marilyn's manic, insecure, manipulative offscreen character it just seems odd that anyone would ever feel drawn towards her vulnerability as the protagonist of the film supposedly is, simply because the charm and warmth, and, dare I say it, humanity of the woman, is missing. I suppose my conclusion must be that, until we find an actress who has that peculiar spark, we should not try our hand at Marilyn Monroe biopics.
(Also, every other actor seemed perfectly cast and they all gave delightful performances. Except Emma Watson's somewhat lacklustre portrayal of the 'nice normal girl', which felt inexpert and lacked authenticity.)
Drive
This movie was... well... I don't watch this sort of thing often, so I don't have much of a reference point. There were many moments of stillness - but never a moment in which one kind of tension or another did not manifest - the tension of suspense, of attraction between characters, of violence, of promised violence... lots of tension and lots of violence. I can't comment too much on said violence because I happen to be cursed with a very lurid and cruel imagination that prevents me from sleeping at night if I expose myself to graphic imagery... so I spent some time during this film eyes very much averted. But I did appreciate the taunt, subtle acting of Ryan Gosling, who is never boring to watch, even when he's doing absolutely nothing.
The script is rather minimalistic, at times feeling natural in a very unexpected way and at other times feeling very stylised. The soundtrack is also very stylised and integral to the film's broody, simmering mood - lots of deep retro bass: I'm not good with dating music to the decade, but it felt very 80s, I think. The theme of 'doing horrible things to protect the innocent' is handled in an interesting (disgustingly graphic, but interesting) manner and all in all, if you can handle the violence or just try and avoid watching said violence altogether, give Drive a try.
(This ad pretty much gives away the plot - but the plot isn't really the point of the film anyway.)
The Fall
Two MA rated movies in one day! This is very much not the norm for me :-)
There isn't much I can say about The Fall, I think... Lots of people are probably able to analyse a film like this and pick out the symbols and themes and meaning; for me is was just a deeply affecting, beautiful sequence of gorgeous imagery, with an underlying story of heartbreak. The chemistry between Lee Pace and Catinca Untaru is perfect, the scenery and overall artistic direction is stunning and the upsetting parts are really disturbing inasmuch as they are described with delicate artistry. If Drive is a gunshot in the gut, The Fall is a skewer in the heart. Definitely recommend.
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