Brian and I had a mutual day off and we figured we better take advantage of it. So on a whim, we drove up to Salt Lake City and watched some movies that aren't playing where we live. We saw My Week with Marilyn and The Descendants. My favorite was the first one while Brian favored the second. Also last week we were able to catch War Horse on a night out with our new friend (and Brian's cousin) Brett.
The film, based on a true story, is of a young man named Colin (Eddie Redmayne) who is third assistant to Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) working on the film The Prince and the Showgirl starring the world-famous Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams). While struggling with pill addictions, depression and the stresses of becoming a "serious actress," Marilyn finds solace in the younger man and the two begin a romantic sort of friendship. She feels that he is the only one who understands her, and he becomes absolutely smitten with her... and who wouldn't? It's Marilyn Monroe after all.
Michelle Williams does a phenomenal job playing Marilyn Monroe. So good, in fact, that I had to continually remind myself that I wasn't actually watching behind-the-scenes footage of the real Monroe's life. Williams undeniably embodied the character in every way imaginable. She sang and performed like Marilyn, talked like Marilyn, moved like Marilyn and played her with a lonely and sad innocence that brought out all the beautiful complexities of the starlet. Other aspects of the movie may have been a tad sub-par (like an unnecessary side plot with actress Emma Watson), but really it's Michelle Williams' superb performance that makes this movie a must-see.
Written and directed by Alexander Payne, the film tells the story of a man named Matt King (George Clooney) who's wife is dying after a boating accident. As he's trying to cope with this, he discovers that his wife was having an affair with a local real estate agent (Matthew Lillard), making the grieving process all the harder. His daughter Alex (Shailene Woodley) helps him on his journey to find the man who slept with his wife, all while breaking the bad news of his wife's condition to various family members and deciding whether or not to sell a huge chunk of Hawaiian land once owned by his forefathers and entrusted to him and his cousins.
The movie, set in Hawaii, is both beautiful and ugly at times. There is a good balance between drama and comedy and the performances all have an understated gravity. Clooney does a terrific job in the role and will definitely be getting an Oscar nomination if not a win. For me, however, the breakout performance was by the young Woodley who played his trouble-making daughter with heart and believability. Judy Greer also has a small role and she did it amazingly well. I always love when I see her on screen.
Steven Spielberg directs this World War I movie about a young man named Albert (Jeremy Irvine) who falls in love with a horse only to have it be sold to the cavalry. The horse, named Joey, is a remarkable one and we follow him into both sides of the war, meeting a range of characters, until he is reunited with Albert once more. The film shows the horrors of a war where one side was still on horseback while the other side was utilizing the newly-created machine gun, but does it in the sweeping style of yesterday's great epics such as Gone With the Wind. The ultimate message is one of hope and courage.
I must admit that I didn't expect to like War Horse, mostly because I'm not that much of a horse fan and I had trouble getting on board with a plot revolving around a boy's love for his steed. That being said, I was proven wrong about twenty minutes in when I started to really enjoy the movie. Spielberg knows his craft and there are some fantastic shots and story devices at work here. The story may be too romanticized for some, but I honestly felt uplifted while watching it. There is a really great scene where an old French man (Niels Arestrup) talks to his granddaughter (Celine Buckens) about the different kinds of courage. You must always look forward and never down.
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