Fantasies come true for a nov­ice 23 year old in My Week with Marilyn, a sharp story from Alli­ance Films now delighting audi­ences at the Ridge Cinema in Vancouver and the International Village Cinemas. Romantic movies can take many twists and turns. A bit out of the box is the surprisingly re­freshing Alliance Films release My Weekend with Marilyn. Yes, the Marilyn we’re speaking of here is in fact Marilyn Monroe, the blonde goddess. Here, however, the film charts a troubled course for the young actress as she heads to England to make a movie before her big hit Some Like it Hot. Strong actress Michelle Wil­liams (Brokeback Mountain) gives a nice portrayal of the American star who goes to Britain to do a movie. Little does she know the problems she’ll encounter abroad. Come to think of it, neither do the British cast and producers who learn the hard way that Ms. Mon­roe may not exactly be their cup of tea.

Behind the scenes looks at movies have been done before. Thanks to a very smart script and wonderful cast we are taken into the bowels of an actual film pro­duction, one featuring the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Olivier no less. One of Britain’s greatest actors historically now gets portrayed by one of the best new generation actors, Kenneth Branagh (Wild Wild West). Fans of Branagh know just how good an actor and director he is and in My Week with Marilyn we get to see a full range of emotions as Mr. Ol­ivier gets to work with Ms. Monroe on the filming of The Prince and The Showgirl. Accents aplenty contribute to the zest in this movie and Branagh’s portrayal of a Rus­sian prince is absolutely hilarious.

Where the “week” figures in the title to this movie is the interlude a young crew member has with Ms. Monroe. Rookie employee Colin Clarke will do anything to get a job in the film world, some­thing many people can relate to especially nowadays. Actor Ed­die Redmayne (The Good Shep­herd) exhibits just the right degree of shyness and adoration to the glamourous American movie star to be believable.

Director Simon Curtis has done many television movies and small screen series and My Week with Marilyn marks his feature film de­but. It’s a fine feather in his cap. Consider his work here to be a big success. Lots of spirit engulfs both the film set and this entire production making it a very pleas­ant spectacle to behold. True to history, the film takes great pains to flesh out some of Miss Monroe’s personal life with her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller and re­lationship with producer Milton Greene well documented. Domi­nic Cooper (The Devil’s Double) is good as the hardened American producer while Dame Judi Dench (Casino Royale) makes a few waves of her own as another major actress on the show as does Julia Ormond (First Knight) as Vivien Leigh.

If you like British drama and want to see standout perfor­mances then this romantic bitter­sweet comedy fits the bill making My Week with Marilyn a pleasant indulgence indeed.

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