ME... I MEAN- W./E.

i went to a screening of W./E. last night @ the pacific design center.
the film is an account of the relationship between british royalty king edward VIII and american wallis simpson- 1930 thru 1972.
at the same time focuses on a contemporary woman living in nyc-
 wally winthrop- who becomes obsessed with their royal love story during the sothebys auction of the estate during 1998.
the film is directed by MADONNA. apparently it was panned in cannes earlier this year and had received 
very negative reviews @ film festivals in europe and the UK in particular. 
this may be because of the "fetish" brits have about the royals in general and the denial- love &hate  of this relationship in particular. it really brings up allot of bad memories to brits... (supposed nazi sympathizers and all).
they are even some accounts that edward married wallis as his "beard." madonna does not address this. maybe she should've!

perhaps in the USA people will be more forgiving since the general public doesn't know as much about this historic relationship.


as a director MADONNA has created a purely visual film. aesthetics seem to be what is important.  as a filmmaker some scenes are clumsy and difficult to follow. 
many new directors make this mistake. they put too much in @ one time. 
she does take risks using a back & forth vintage to modern narrative to tell this story...
this doesn't always work. 
of course madonna can do whatever she wants so the success of this film is guaranteed.
i do notice that all films madonna is a part of seem to have men violent against women...
humm....... i wonder?

the part of the film i enjoyed the most is the modern day relationship between  the contemporary character 
wally winthrop and a russian-emigrant sothebys guard- evgeni, (played by oscar lsaac). 

somehow i found him to be the soul of the film, presenting perhaps what madonna does best as a director- 
tells a love story. it is the true fairy tale, and in real life would never happen.. in a million years.
the acting is good, but the real star of the film are the costumes designed by longtime costumer for madonna-
ARIANNE PHILLIPS. some of the key wardrobe was on display in the lobby.


as stylish as this film is ultimately the plot comes off as false. to quote another famous brit~
"much ado about nothing."



 W./E.

Directed by
Madonna

Writing by
Alek Keshishian		screenplay
Madonna		screenplay

Cast 

	Abbie Cornish	...	Wally Winthrop
	Andrea Riseborough	...	Wallis Simpson
	James D'Arcy	...	Edward
	Oscar Isaac	...	Evgeni
	Richard Coyle	...	William Winthrop
	David Harbour	...	Ernest
	James Fox	...	King George V
	Judy Parfitt	...	Queen Mary
	Haluk Bilginer	...	Al Fayed

Produced by
Scott Franklin	....	executive producer
Donna Gigliotti	....	executive producer
Kris Thykier	....	producer
Colin Vaines	....	producer
Nigel Wooll	....	executive producer
Sara Zambreno	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Abel Korzeniowski

Cinematography by
Hagen Bogdanski		(director of photography)

Art Direction by
Huw Arthur
Steven Lawrence		(senior art director)
Mark Raggett		(supervising art director)
Molly Sole
Sarah Stuart

Production Design by
Martin Childs

Set Decoration by
Celia Bobak
Cherish Magennis
Michel Rollant

Costume Design by
Arianne Phillips