Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2012

A beautiful and insightful film about the week Marilyn Monroe spent in England making The Prince and the Showgirl, as told by Colin Clark, a young gofer on the set who enjoyed a brief, chaste period as her friend and confidant. If you at all doubt that Michelle Williams warranted her Oscar nod, I refer you to a scene in which, unexpectedly finding herself surrounded by adoring schoolboys, she asks Colin, “Shall I be her?” and the confused and vulnerable Norma Jean is transformed before your eyes into the confident, sexy movie icon. A plus is Kenneth Branagh’s rollicking rendition of Sir Laurence Olivier.