Review: W.E. (15) ***
Arriving so soon after the barnstorming, garlanded, multi Oscar-winning The King’s Speech, Madonna’s across-the-decades portrait of the destructive, all-consuming affair between Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson is bound to emerge as a drama of lesser power, size and scope.
And that is to do this film a great disservice. For in rendering her own take on the Wallis-Edward romance, Madonna has sought to capture the frustration and constraint of being two birds in a gilded cage.
A story that spans the years – from Europe in the 30s, when the affair is gathering pace, to New York in the 90s when a young wife becomes obsessed with the Duchess of Windsor’s effects, soon to go to auction – W.E. is really a tale of two very different women, each seeking an escape route.
Madonna’s fascination with Wallis is evident throughout this highly personal film. It also gives enormous opportunities to Andrea Riseborough (as Wallis) and Abbie Cornish (as Wally) which are not wasted, Riseborough in particular emerging triumphant in an uncanny portrayal of the single-minded elegant clotheshorse who snared a king.
Cornish also endures some crippling emotional abuse – and violence – from her drunken spouse and it’s this that seals her sisterhood with Riseborough.
W.E. is a cry for independence, love and understanding. It is also a fine debut from Madonna and works hard to explode the myth that the crown was stolen by a supreme sexual manipulator who later regretted her acts.
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