"“The film tried to be classy and slick but instead just felt unnatural and manufactured…”"

Written and directed by Madonna, W.E. is a double-layered romantic drama; comparing a modern relationship with the infamous affair between King Edward VIII and American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

The film, which featured at the 55th BFI London Film Festival, studies the dynamics and romance in the relationships of two couples, even though they are over 70 years apart.

The contemporary relationship is between Wally (Abbie Cornish) and Russian security guard Evgeni (Oscar Isaac). Wally, married to the wealthy William (Richard Coyle), is unhappy in her relationship - subject to domestic violence and is suspicious of being cheated on. However, she soon forms a bond with Evgeni, who works at Sotheby’s, where various possessions of the King and his partner are being auctioned off.

The film continuously cuts between the contemporary romance and that of Edward (James D’Arcy) and Wallis (Andrea Riseborough), combining the two stories through contrasting elements in both affairs. 

However, the nature in which the film would incessantly cut between the stories felt so contrived. The film tried to be classy and slick but instead just felt unnatural and manufactured. There was simply no need to attempt to cover both stories. I felt that the film would have benefited from focusing solely on one of the stories, and then merely made references to the past/future. Having dual storylines just seemed quite pointless.

I didn’t feel that the two correlating stories were similar enough to put side by side, and compare throughout. The older story consisted of a King giving up his throne to be with the woman he loved, risking his reputation and status for the American divorcee. A huge compromise and one that remains to split opinions, as many believe it to be a mistake, whilst others view upon it as the most genuine love story of all time.

However, the modern account, between Wally and Evgeni, was just a bit insignificant in comparison. A woman wants to leave her abusive husband to be with a kind-hearted and intelligent security guard. As far as contrasting stories go, these two don’t really match up, apart from the fact they have matching initials. Clever isn’t it?

Despite my reservations with the storyline, the films worst feature was its terrible script. The film was desperate to seem romantic and amorous, but it just felt too forced. The quirky, playful one-liners felt artificial and didn’t allow the film any natural flow. Madonna probably should have left someone else to write the film, as she clearly hasn’t mastered the knack for writing a good screenplay that she has for writing successful pop music.

The film, which also went on at least half an hour too long, depicted a similar story to what The King’s Speech touched upon. King Edward VIII was the elder the brother of King George VI, who the multi-Oscar winning production is based on. The King’s Speech looked vaguely into the relationship between Edward and Wallis, and I felt that within that ten minute segment the story was more aptly presented than W.E. managed throughout the entire feature.

Also, I’m rarely supportive of filmmakers using contemporary music when played over scenes set years into the past, and there was something quite uncomfortable about hearing Pretty Vacant by the Sex Pistols during a scene where Wallis Simpson is dancing for the King, in what was supposed to be the 1930’s.

But, despite my various qualms with Madonna’s second feature film, it was better than I had initially anticipated. To be fair, I did have very low expectations, but the film was shot well, and the acting was credible.

Lastly, and maybe I am nit-picking here, but I feel that in order for Madonna to be taken seriously as a filmmaker, and set her cinematography apart from musical career, she should use her full, real name, and perhaps steer away from simply being called Madonna. Or to be taken more seriously, perhaps she could just make a better standard of film - that might help.