W.E. is composed of two stories of two women; one the mistress of a king, and the other an unhappy wife of a psychiatrist. The first story has fascinated people for decades; the second isn‘t fascinating at all.
As a plot device, it‘s OK, but too much time is spent with Wally, and her fanatical interest in Wallis Simpson. Wally spends her days mooning over objects that belonged to Wallis, and has imagined conversations with her, visiting her at crucial points in her journey to become the Duchess of Windsor.
This film looks sumptuous particularly the Wallis parts, but Madonna has gone for a choppy style of film-making, focusing on hands, eyes, mouths, and intercutting with shots of the whole person. This makes for a somewhat stomach churning experience, but you get used to it.
On the whole, it‘s a bit confused, and could have done with some sharper editing, but the performances, Andrea Risborough in particular, are good. You come away feeling sorry for Wallis, who was clearly playing with fire. There is a real sense of what she lost as she moves towards the ill-fated climax that history had in store for her. Edward expected to spend the rest of his life with a woman who would be eternally grateful and see him as a noble creature, and not a needy, disillusioned man whose poor judgement lost him the allure that had made him attractive in the first place.
As a plot device, it‘s OK, but too much time is spent with Wally, and her fanatical interest in Wallis Simpson. Wally spends her days mooning over objects that belonged to Wallis, and has imagined conversations with her, visiting her at crucial points in her journey to become the Duchess of Windsor.
This film looks sumptuous particularly the Wallis parts, but Madonna has gone for a choppy style of film-making, focusing on hands, eyes, mouths, and intercutting with shots of the whole person. This makes for a somewhat stomach churning experience, but you get used to it.
On the whole, it‘s a bit confused, and could have done with some sharper editing, but the performances, Andrea Risborough in particular, are good. You come away feeling sorry for Wallis, who was clearly playing with fire. There is a real sense of what she lost as she moves towards the ill-fated climax that history had in store for her. Edward expected to spend the rest of his life with a woman who would be eternally grateful and see him as a noble creature, and not a needy, disillusioned man whose poor judgement lost him the allure that had made him attractive in the first place.