My Top 10 Films of 2011

There were many great films released on the big screen this year, from the origins of the X-Men to nameless drivers. Of course, there were many films that I didn’t get to see, but as I’ve started to write about film more over this past year, I have slowly been catching up. For the UK, as well, we’re still waiting for some highly acclaimed films, such as Shame, to be released over on these shores, but these will have to be included in next year’s list as I am going by UK dates.

This list is constantly changing with the more films I watch so you can visit my Letterboxd account for a constantly updated list.

For now, here are my top 10 films of 2011:

Film Review: My Week With Marilyn

Directed by Simon Curtis and based on two books by Colin Clark, My Week With Marilyn depicts the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl, which starred Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) and Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh). During this time, 23-year-old Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), determined to make his way in the film business, worked as a lowly assistant and documented the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. Desperate to get away from her retinue of Hollywood hangers-on and the pressures of work, Colin escorts Marilyn around and introduces her to some of the pleasures of British life.

Behind-The-Scenes Featurette For ‘My Week With Marilyn’

(Written for BritScene)

A new behind-the-scenes featurette for Simon Curtis‘ My Week With Marilyn has been released this week, which includes commentary from leading lady Michelle Williams and some of the British cast, Judi Dench and Emma Watson.

Based on Colin Clark’s two diary accounts of his time on set for The Prince and the Showgirl with Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Olivier in 1957, My Week With Marilyn focuses on the week in which Clark spent his week escorting Monroe around England after her husband, Arthur Muller, left the country. Introducing her to British life, Monroe begins to escape from her Hollywood routine and the pressures of work, letting Clark see a side of her that the cameras didn’t know.

First Trailer for ‘My Week With Marilyn’

(Written for BritScene)

My Week With Marilyn has had very little promotion despite its intriguing hype. Premiering at the New York Film Festival this weekend, we have finally been given a trailer to show us non-press folks what we will be missing out on.

Based on Colin Clark‘s two dairy accounts of his time on set for The Prince and the Showgirl with Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Olivier in 1957, the film focuses on the week in which Clark spent with Monroe after her husband, Arthur Miller, left the country.

An American actress, and a worldwide icon, the film is set in England where Clark, an assistant on the set, spends the week escorting Monroe around, introducing her to British life as she begins to escape from her Hollywood routine and the pressures of work.

New Poster For My Week With Marilyn

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

My Week With Marilyn has been kept quite well under wraps; we are yet to see a trailer but this week a poster has been released online, showing the stunning Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe.

Based on two novels by Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier’s, the film documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during the production of The Prince and the Showgirl in 1957.

40 years after the production of this film that famously united Olivier and Monroe, Clark published his diary of the account named “The Prince, the Showgirl and Me“, but one week was missed out. This week is the focus of director Simon Curtis’ film; the week when Monroe’s husband, playwright Arthur Miller, left the country, leaving Colin to introduce Marilyn to some of the pleasures of British life.