If you think of Madonna's name in relation to movies, you probably think of her performance in Evita, maybe her turn as Breathless Mahoney in Dick Tracy. If you're particularly unlucky, your brain might dredge up memories of Swept Away. Regardless, most of the associations between "Madonna" and "movies" aren't going to suggest this is a person ideally positioned to be writing and directing a movie of her own. Nevertheless, that's just what she's doing with the historical drama W.E., which tells the story of the star-crossed romance between King Edward VIII and American Wallis Simpson. Madonna both directed and co-wrote (with Alek Keshishian) the film, and with its December 9th release date fast approaching, the Weinstein Company has released a new trailer.
At first blush it looks promising, especially if you're a fan of this sort of historical romance. It's got a solid cast, including Abbie Cornish, Richard Coyle, James D’Arcy, Oscar Isaac, Annabelle Wallis and Andrea Riseborough. The only things working against it, frankly, are Madonna's unproven filmmaking skills and the unfavorable reviews from its premiere at the Venice Film Festival. After that chilly reception, she agreed to make some cuts to the film, so perhaps that bit of gardening will work in W.E.'s favor?
Hopefully the final version of W.E. will win moviegoers over. Regardless of whether you like Madonna as a performer, the story of W.E. is an interesting one, and I'll be curious to see how she intertwines the historical romance with the more current timeline.
W.E. opens in Los Angeles and New York on December 9th, then goes into wider release on February 3rd.
