Book Review: "My Week With Marilyn" by Colin Clark

I have been watching MM very closely. She is really like a lovely child. Whatever possessed her to become an actress? I suppose it was some sort of idea about Hollywood.

- My Week With Marilyn by Colin Clark

It is weird that I would come back to this book so many years after reading it for the first time. I remember reading it briefly when I was in university, sort of scouring the pages for any inspiration regarding a normal man who had been confidently involved in a friendship with one of the most famous people of all time. I have to say that I found the film to be an underwhelming experience, not really capturing the realism and the intensity of the emotion felt within the book for me. I think I came back to this book because of the time I had first read it - I was just starting university and it was a simpler time than now. As of February 2025, I can say I am not in a simple time, but I am still grateful for having the life and support that I do. Here’s my updates about My Week with Marilyn and it’s a good one!

For some background and context: in 1956, Marilyn Monroe travelled to England to star opposite Laurence Olivier in The Prince and the Showgirl, a film adaptation of the play The Sleeping Prince. Monroe, already a global superstar, was seeking to be taken more seriously as an actress, and working with Olivier, one of the most esteemed actors of his generation, seemed like a step in that direction. However, tensions arose on set due to Monroe’s insecurities, reliance on her acting coach Paula Strasberg, and her method-acting approach, which clashed with Olivier’s classical training. Amidst these challenges, young Colin Clark found himself drawn into Monroe’s world, briefly becoming her confidant and companion during a turbulent period. For those of us who have read about this time in Marilyn Monroe’s life, it was one of turbulence (as if her life was not filled with turbulence anyway), but she was really trying to establish and redefine herself and between you and me, I think Olivier may have got in the way of that.

At 23 years old, Colin Clark was an eager and ambitious young man hoping to make his mark in the film industry. Through family connections, he secured a low-ranking job as a third assistant director (essentially a glorified gofer) on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl. His duties included handling schedules, running errands, and liaising between cast and crew. While initially tasked with mundane jobs, Clark found himself increasingly involved in Monroe’s day-to-day struggles, serving as an unofficial intermediary between her and the film’s frustrated director, Olivier. I think that this was fantastically done in the book because you can see it all build in real time. Colin Clark starts slow and it becomes more and more fantastical - there is a feeling of awe in the reader when Marilyn Monroe enters the scene.

Clark’s account portrays Marilyn Monroe as both a luminous screen presence and a deeply troubled individual. She was frequently late to set, plagued by self-doubt, and heavily reliant on Paula Strasberg for emotional and professional support. The British crew, unused to method acting, grew frustrated with Monroe’s unpredictability, while Olivier, though initially enchanted by her, became exasperated with her inability to deliver consistent performances. Monroe’s personal life was also in turmoil; her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller was strained, and she was under immense pressure to prove herself beyond the “dumb blonde” persona that had made her famous. I think it was always unfair to think of Marilyn Monroe as a ‘dumb blonde’ when she essentially created the persona of the comedienne that we know of in modern comedy movies. She was the first to really perfect it. And then, when we see films like Niagara we can observe that she can basically play any character.

The heart of the memoir revolves around a brief, magical interlude in which Monroe, overwhelmed by the pressures of filming, seeks solace in Clark’s company. For one week, she invites him into her private world, sharing moments of spontaneity, vulnerability, and fleeting happiness. They visit the English countryside, take boat rides, and engage in deep, personal conversations. Monroe, lonely and craving genuine connection, finds in Clark a temporary escape from the demands of stardom. Clark, in turn, is captivated by her charm, wit, and childlike need for affection, though he remains aware that their bond is ephemeral. I think that this really solidifies that fact of Marilyn Monroe’s life that we have all wondered about: how can a woman like this be so lonely and plagued by isolation. Well, there it is, of course she can.

Clark’s memoir offers more than just an anecdotal glimpse into Monroe’s life; it serves as a meditation on fame, loneliness, and the myth of Marilyn Monroe. Through his eyes, readers see a woman trapped between her public persona and private insecurities, yearning for authenticity in an industry that demanded artifice. Clark’s youthful perspective adds to the bittersweet nature of the story, as he recognises both the privilege and the impossibility of truly knowing Monroe. I cannot get over the beginning in compared to the end of the book. The beginning is fast, filled with horrible Hollywood characters and as soon as Marilyn Monroe enters, the whole demand of the Hollywood fat cats dissipates and what we are left with is a feeling of awe. Even in writing, she is impossible to define.

All in all, I feel like the book is massively underrated and the movie kind of overshadowed it into being a mediocrity. The book is fantastic and is filled with raw, intense and extremely human emotion bursting from its seams - dripping from the unreal world into the real one. It redefines Marilyn Monroe, without really revealing all of who she is on the inside.