Directed by: Simon Curtis
Starring: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: R
99 minutes

Michelle Williams stars as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week With Marilyn." (Courtesy photos)

Kenneth Branagh portrays Laurence Olivier in "My Week With Marilyn."

I feel like there's something almost quaint about Marilyn Monroe. That might seem an odd thing to say about the 20th century's most iconic sex symbol, but behind her ditzy and glamorous persona, she just wanted to hold her own among people she thought were more deserving of praise; she had the sort of inferiority complex one gets from going from a small town to a big city in a rush.

At least, this is the side of her we see in the new romance, "My Week with Marilyn." And while the film might stretch the truth here and there, we nevertheless fall in love with Miss Monroe all over again, nearly 50 years after her illustrious career.

We begin with a young Brit, Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne, "The Good Shepherd"), who decides he's going to drop everything to go work for Laurence Olivier's movie production company. Determined to get into the industry, Clark is willing to take any job, as long as it's on a movie set. He ends up as the third assistant director on "The Prince and the Showgirl," a grandiose collaboration between Olivier (Kenneth Branagh, "Henry V") and the blonde bombshell herself, Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine").

The combination turns out to be nearly disastrous, as Monroe lacks the strength, willpower, and attention span needed on set, and Olivier lacks the patience to deal with her. Clark becomes something of a go-between for Olivier and Monroe, and in doing so gets swept up in the latter's natural charm. What starts as a professional relationship soon turns into friendship and, inevitably, a romantic fling, despite warnings from all of Clark's superiors.

The only thing more certain than a young man falling in love with Marilyn, they warn, is the heartbreak that will follow.

I'd be hard pressed to find a movie that more glorifies young love and celebrates living spontaneously than this. Adrian Hodges's (TV's "David Copperfield") script, adapted from Clark's memoirs, is lively and fun, and director Simon Curtis ("David Copperfield") fully embraces that spirit. At its best, "My Week with Marilyn" captures the bliss of the perfect cinematic romance, and at its lesser moments (which are few and far between) tries a little too hard to make us ache for Monroe. It's the sort of emphatic admiration that would be cliché if Curtis, Hodges, and the outstanding cast weren't all on the same page.

Eddie Redmayne in a scene from "My Week With Marilyn."

But they are on the same page, and our leads shine as a result. Michelle Williams has found and executed the perfect role for herself, tantalizing the audience the way Audrey Hepburn did in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Her performance is a great one, one that forces us not to pity her when she's at her most pitiful, and forcing us not to get too caught up in her graces when she's at her most lovable. She works her charm completely over the doe-eyed Redmayne, who has the charisma and composure to keep his scenes with Williams balanced well.

Branagh and the other members of the cast, meanwhile, are all more or less relegated to minor characters. If Curtis has been remiss in anything, it is in giving the other actors and actresses their due screen time. Appearances by Emma Watson ("Harry Potter"), Dame Judi Dench ("Notes on a Scandal"), and Dominic Cooper ("The Devil's Double") go virtually unnoticed compared to the leads, despite the importance of their respective characters. Even Branagh's Olivier, good as he is, feels extraneous at times; we find ourselves waiting for his scenes to be over so that we can get back to Redmayne and Williams.

Whether this is a detriment to the film or an advantage depends on the viewer. For my part, I found the intimacy between Williams and Redmayne convincing and engrossing enough to excuse the neglect of the others. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a movie that explores the psychotic nature of celebrity or a brutally honest biopic, you might find yourself disappointed.

"My Week with Marilyn" is as much a fairytale as any happily-ever-after story. It starts cheerful, becomes giddy, and ends not with tears but with nostalgia. Put it this way: I didn't want to leave the theater when the credits started rolling. That's about as much as you can ask for in a movie.

Danny Eisenberg is a 2010 graduate of the Bromfield School and is currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania.