With The Weinstein Company’s
romantic drama “W.E.,” Madonna, one of the world's most famous women, tries to
clean up the stained image of another famous American, Wallis Simpson —
"that woman" for whom King Edward VIII gave up his throne in 1936,
causing a crisis unprecedented in British history.
 |
| Photo Courtesy of Weinstein Company |
Simpson
has been dead for nearly 26 years; her ex-king husband, the Duke of Windsor,
has been gone for nearly 40. Neither had a good end but their story lives on as
one of the most reproduced of royal sagas on stage and screen for most of the
20th century.
Now,
75 years after the abdication crisis, Madonna's movie, “W.E.” helps shift the
image of Simpson from the mannish-but-chic party crasher at the palace to a
more ambivalent figure, by turns despised, traduced, envied and pitied even by
her critics.
“W.E.” starts in the year 1998, when
Manhattan is abuzz with anticipation about the upcoming auction of the estate
of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. But the auction is far more than a
diversion for Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish), a transplanted Southerner trapped
in an unhappy and abusive marriage. Transfixed by the exquisite artifacts of
the Windsors' lives, Wally becomes obsessed with the love story of Wallis
Simpson (Andrea Riseborough), the chic, charismatic American who captured the
heart of King Edward VIII (James D'Arcy). As she learns more about the
sacrifices Wallis made in choosing to be with Edward, Wally finds the courage
to follow her own heart and create her own happiness.
Writer
and director Madonna had been developing the idea for “W.E.” for many years.
She had a longstanding fascination with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, yet
she was not interested in making a conventional biopic. She sought instead to
capture the essence of their romance and convey her interpretation of one of
the greatest love stories of the 20th Century. She says, "Truth is
subjective. Everything I have to say about the Duke and Duchess is the
conclusion I came to after all my research. I wanted to present a more
well-rounded portrayal of Wallis than was commonly known. I created the Wally
character because the movie needed a point of view. Wally goes on a journey
thinking this is the greatest love story only to realize that it wasn't such a
perfect love and that both of them made huge sacrifices. Strangely enough,
Wallis seemed to make more of a sacrifice than Edward did."
Madonna
comments, “I couldn’t get my mind off the fact that a man gave up the throne
for a woman. From my perspective, men since the beginning of time have fought
to get on the throne. Men are power-seeking animals, so why would this man run
away from power? Why would he give it up? What drove him to do that? If it was
for a woman and it was for love, what did this woman have that would inspire
him to make such a great sacrifice? I wanted to know more about her.”
Fascinated
by this woman and this powerful love story, Madonna spent two years writing her
script, and although “W.E.” is, in part, a fictionalized story, she also spent
this time heavily researching the project. She devoured every book published on
Wallis and Edward, watched every documentary and broadcast available and
interviewed countless people who knew Wallis and Edward.
During
her research, two elements became particularly important. Wallis and Edward
wrote to each other constantly throughout their relationship, sometimes even
when staying in the same house. These letters are used throughout the film and
even provide the title “W.E.” due to the way they would sign off their letters
with their initials. “I found the letters very insightful because I think
people reveal a lot about themselves in a letter. Things you don’t get from a
book – the way they speak to each other, the nicknames they gave each other,”
concludes Madonna.
(“W.E.”
will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas – Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 and
Trinoma – starting Sept. 12.)
No comments:
Post a Comment