Michelle Williams: The 'perfect' Marilyn Monroe?

In My Week with Marilyn, the indie film goddess channels the boop-boop-a-doop of one of cinema's most iconic stars — and critics are smitten

Michelle Williams
(Image credit: Facebook/My Week With Marilyn)

Michelle Williams, known for quietly disappearing into introspective roles in films like Brokeback Mountain and Blue Valentine, is among her generation's most critically-praised actresses. But how does she acquit herself playing one of American cinema's most famous, larger-than-life women? In My Week with Marilyn, released Wednesday, Williams portrays Marilyn Monroe during the height of her magnetism in a behind-the-scenes look at the icon shooting 1957's The Prince and the Showgirl alongside Laurence Olivier. Despite early doubts that the twice-Oscar-nominated Williams could capture Monroe's out-sized personality, critics are saying she's "perfect" in the role, and worthy of a third Oscar nod (watch trailer below). Is her portrayal that good?

She is "perfection": Watching Michelle Williams embody Marilyn Monroe is "a magical experience," says Rex Reed at The New York Observer. The actress' "incandescent performance" shows the "conflicted woman behind the diamonds and the sunglasses" better than any previous bioflick or imitation. It takes a while to get used to seeing Williams as Monroe — "I've seen drag queens who look more like the real Marilyn" — but it soon becomes apparent that she is "letter perfect," assuming the role "like new skin."

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