Movie Review: W/E

Directed by: Madonna

Written by: Madonna & Alex Keshishian

Produced by: Madonna, Kris Thykier, Colin Vatnes, Sara Zambreno, Scott Franklin & Harvey Weinstein

Distributed by: The Weinstein Company/Studio Canal UK

Starring:

Wally Winthrop: Abby Cornish
William Winthrop: Richard Coyle
Wallis Warfield Simpson: Andrea Riseborough
The Prince of Wales/Edward VIII – James D’Arcy
Evgeny: Oscar Isaac
The Duke of York/George V – Laurence Fox
The Duchess of York – Natalie Dormer
George V – James Fox
Queen Mary – Judy Parfitt


Plot:

W.E. tells the story of two fragile but determined women, Wally Winthrop and Wallis Simpson, separated for more than six decades. In 1998, lonely New Yorker Winthrop is obsessed with what she perceives as the ultimate love story: King Edward VIII’s abdication of the British throne for the woman he loved, American divorcee Wallis Simpson. But Winthrop's research, including several visits to the Sotheby's auction of the Windsor Estate, reveals that the couple's life together was not as perfect as she thought. Weaving back and forth in time, the film intertwines Wally's journey of discovery in New York with the story of Wallis and Edward, from the glamorous early days of their romance to the slow unraveling of their lives in the decades that followed.

My thoughts:

I saw this early Sunday morning. So why has it taken me until Thursday to write my review? Because there were so many other interesting things to do with my time; like my laundry, reading, or catching up on my night-time soaps. It’s not that W/E was a bad film; it just wasn’t a particularly good one either. I really wanted to like this film. I’ve been a fan of Madonna from the very beginning of her career, and I’ve always been a little bit obsessed with The Duchess of Windsor. From the first episode of Edward & Mrs. Simpson on PBS, I have been hooked on the story of the King who gave up his throne for the Baltimore Belle. So how can I fault Madonna for her own obsession with the story?

The problem lies in the construction of the film. Madonna frames the story of Edward and Wallis with a contemporary story of a southern belle named Wally Winthrop. In interviews, she has stated that she wasn’t interested in just telling the story of the couple; she wanted to filter their story through a contemporary woman who finds her own way to happiness while investigating the story. Unfortunately, Wally’s story suffers in comparison to the more dynamic story of Wallis. Contemporary Wally wears a lot of chic black outfits that wouldn’t look out of place on the Duchess of Cambridge. Wan and pale, she’s like a somnambulist, sleepwalking through her life. Her rich doctor husband doesn’t want her to work, so instead of volunteering or going back to school, she spends her days obsessing over having a baby, and staring wide-eyed at the objects from the Sotheby’s auction of the Windsor estate. Her husband is an asshole for no other reason than the screenwriters have said he’s an asshole. There’s a lame attempt to equate him with Wallis’s first husband, Earl Winfield Spencer that doesn’t quite come off. At one point, Wally’s identification with her namesake leads her to start wearing her hair like the Duchess.

The film comes alive when the story shifts to the past. Wallis (as played by Andrea Riseborough) is vibrant with a brittle charm that clearly masks the little girl who grew up in genteel poverty. This Wallis is clearly making her way in the world the only way she knows how; by marrying her way through it. This Wallis is a realist; she knows that she knows no beauty, so her only weapon is to dress well. At times Wallis speaks to contemporary Wally as if the past and the present were overlapping. When that happens, the audience realizes just what a drip Wally is. The one intriguing thing in the whole film is the moment when Wally points out to Evgeny, the hot Russian security guard, that no one ever talks about what Wallis sacrificed to marry Edward. I found that interesting and the point of the whole movie sort of crystalized.

The film is sumptuous to look at; no expense was spared on recreating the look of the period, down to recreating some of Wallis actual outfits such as her wedding dress, and a few iconic pieces. However, the film feels hollow at the core, all flash and surface and not enough substance. Another problem is that the continuity is off when the film flashes back to the past, particularly in the events leading up to the abdication. There are events that are captioned 1936 that clearly happened before then.

For the most part, the film is well cast. Andrea Riseborough is picture perfect as Wallis but James D’Arcy, besides being way too tall to play Edward, has none of the charm or the Peter Pan like qualities that made him so attractive. Poor Laurence Fox and Natalie Dormer try in their few scenes but it’s hard not to compare them to Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter who played the same roles in The King’s Speech. Abby Cornish, her hair dyed jet black, spends most of her time fading into the woodwork until her later scenes with Evgeny. Madonna has talent as a director; it’s a shame that she didn’t trust her story.

My verdict:  Wait until it's out on Netflix

Wallis & Edward - 75th Anniversary of Edward VIII's Abdication

This sunday marks the 75th anniversary of Edward VIII's famous radio broadcast, where he told the nation that he was abdicating because he couldn't possibly fulfill his duties without the help of "the woman I love." That woman as we all know was Wallis Simpson, who became the Duchess of Windsor. The day before he had signed the instruments of abdication with his three brothers, the Duke of York, the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent as witnesses. 75 years later we are still fascinated with what was billed as the love story of the century.  King gives up his throne for a twice-divorced American woman. Who would have thunk it? His great-grandmother Queen Victoria must have been rolling in her grave! The more I read about Wallis and Edward, the more sympathy actually I have for her.  I don't think she had any idea that Edward's feelings were going to run so deep for her that he would abdicate.  She truly believed that the affair would run its course and he would move on like he'd had before.  Instead of ending it when she had the chance, her own hubris got in the way, and Edward became more and more reliant on her.  If she'd had the chance, I think that she would have stayed married to Ernest Simpson.

To mark the anniversary, I thought I would share with you all some books and movies about Edward and Mrs. Simpson. First up is the new movie W.E. directed by none other than Madonna.  I saw a preview of this film when I went to see My Week with Marilyn, and I have to say that it looked rather interesting. The poster is rather intriguing as well. The film is in limited release right now, planning to go wide in early 2012.  I certainly plan on seeing it before the end of the year, and of course, I will share my thoughts with you all!

Two new biographies of Wallis Simpson were published this past year in the UK.  The first was by royal biographer Hugo Vickers.

I have not yet read this book although I plan on purchasing it when it comes out in paperback next year.  I did purchase Anne Sebba's book from Amazon.co.uk, even though it's being published in the US in March of 2012. I just love the picture of Wallis on the cover. I'm in the middle of the book right now, and I'm quite enjoying it. I could have done without the speculation about whether or not Wallis was biologically a man or not.  Seriously can we put this theory to bed? There's no way to prove it, unless someone manages to get permission to dig The Duchess' body up to test her DNA.  Sebba doesn't reveal any real new information on Wallis, apart from quoting the letters that she wrote Ernest Simpson after the divorce, clearing indicating her strong feelings for her ex-husband, and her regret at how things turned out.

For something completely different, Laurie Graham has written a novel about the Windsors from the POV of a fictional friend of Wallis' from Baltimore entitled GONE WITH THE WINDSOR'S.  I haven't read this but I love the cover.  I did read Anne Edward's novel WALLIS, that was published I think in 1991 that was pretty decent.

Of course, the best miniseries, in my humble opinion, was Edward & Mrs. Simpson starring Edward Fox as Edward VIII and American actress Cynthia Harris as Wallis.  Of all the actresses that I have seen play the role, Cynthia Harris comes close to capturing the spirit of Wallis, not to mention that she looks uncannily like her. No one can better Edward Fox as the Prince of Wales/Edward VIII either.  If you haven't seen it, I suggest adding it to your Netflix queue.

This film was made several years ago starring Joely Richardson (daughter of Vanessa Redgrave) as Wallis and Stephen Campbell Moore as Edward.  I've only watched 1/2 hour of this, and I wasn't impressed. Richardson's accent is all over the place and Campbell Moore is way too young to be playing Edward (He was 41 when he abdicated), he barely looks like he's old enough to shave.

Tonight on the Royal Report, Marilyn from Marilyn's Royal Report will be discussing the abdication and what it meant for Britain as well as the implications.