W.E.

[prettyxcool]

The one at the Soho Hotel?
Time – 6pm, on arrival you’ll receive a glass of champagne with vintage makeovers followed by an exclusive screening of the movie!

[canadian_turtle]

The 6pm is the better screening?

7pm screening gets a Q/A though!

[Sunny Saver]

The 6pm is the better screening?

I don't know about that, I just want to go to an earlier screening. The 7pm one is a Q&A, I have no Qs, so don't really care.

[Beate]

So, 6pm, Soho Hotel, champers - prettyxcool
7pm, Empire Leicester Square, Q&A - me

[ejwrank]

I'll be there with Bevvy at the Empire with you Beate -- champerless but we'll see the stars of the film.

[prettyxcool]

Arrived at Soho Hotel at 6.05pm and there was already a queue for the the makeover - they were doing hair as well. The lady with the list said it would be 20 minutes wait for me, but it never happened, but fortunately, there was this sickly sweet melon cocktail and loads of wine to appease me! Good to see soonforgotten at the end and have a debate!

Well done to Madonna on her debut directing. I went to see this with an open mind, and I was very impressed. It was beautiful, sensual, well cast, good script, lovely music, I loved everything about the film. Only teeny weeny minor point was that it was a tad too long but otherwise a captivating and interesting film, I was immersed from the start. Great performances, very convincing, I felt the emotions. Also loved the way the present story and the W.E. story intertwined. Great to see the other side of the story. 9/10

[Beate]

This was one full screening squeezed into a tiny screening room. The seats were dreadfully uncomfortable, and there was not much legroom or incline either. Lovely to see SunnySaver, ejwrank, canadian_turtle and funthing29 and at long last to deliver my Christmas present to bevvy who made a rare appearance.

I didn't know what to make of it at first as it started with a ghastly scene with Wallis and her first husband in 1924. It then cut to present time New York where a woman named Wally (named after Wallis Simpson, we later hear, played by Abbie Cornish), is completely obsessed with her and her love story with the king. She visits an exhibition at Sothebys over a number of days, and each time she looks at or touches a particular item, it cuts back to Wallis at a time when those items were in use, sometimes quite randomly.

It becomes clear that Wallis wasn't all that happy with her romance as we are all led to believe (although I saw a TV documentary recently which said exactly that as well), and especially Wally believed, who is married to a rich arsehole who doesn't respect her one bit. Luckily there's the Russian auction house employee...

It was all very beautifully shot, and both Wallis and Wally were always styled to the nines. King Edward was unfortunately rather bland and his voice not posh enough for a royal, but Andrea Riseborough was riveting as Wallis. One got the impression she really would have remained happiest with her second husband who looked like a steadfast, nice bloke.

When Wally wanted to see their private letters and spoke to Mohammed Al-Fayed who apparently owns them, she talked about how much the foreigner (Wallis) had to give up as well for falling in love with the royal. You could immediately hear Al-Fayed's brain whirr back to Dodi and Diana, and I thought that Madonna might have hinted rather unsubtly at her own situation of marrying Guy Ritchie and living in a foreign country.

All in all quite entertaining with some great actresses, but it didn't have to be quite so long though. And it was weird to see Lady Morgana dance with the king...

We nearly didn't make it out before the Q&A but it had to be done as I was dead tired so we squeezed past the others, waited for the actors to enter at the bottom of the stairs, then legged it. We were followed out by a couple, with the guy saying in disbelief "Those were the actors from the film!" and the girl replying "I know, but I need to get home."

7/10

[canadian_turtle]

I was bored out of my mind (never looked at my watch as often as during this movie) and confused the rest of the time. I am really not one for giving a movie as low as a 1 as I try to find redeeming qualities in it always, and it this case I suppose it was the beautiful music and the gorgeous D'Arcy (who was quite funny at the Q/A afterwards - which was again the only redeeming quality about that part of the evening). 4/10

Oh and we had 1 walk out.

[funthing29]

Snoozefest with a capital S.

Considering this is about a great romance, it didn't feel that romantic to me and was sappy, long and dull. The historical romance was rushed, one moment Wallis and Edward were at a dinner party and the next they were a couple with no development of their relationship. The leads had no chemistry so there was no intensity or passion in their "epic love story". I did not like the snappy camerawork which made me feel dizzy. The film cut between the modern and historical stories too frequently. The scenes where we saw Wallis and Wally did not work. This did not feel coherent and the result is long, sloppy and boring. 4/10.

The Q&A was not much better. Andrea Riseborough tried to be all fancy and use flowery words but luckily James D'Arcy lightened things up with some humour. The one positive I can say is that it was not as bad as the Rio Q&A (for those unlucky souls who were also present for that).

[Beate]

Oh and we had 1 walk out.

That guy was from our row, but he came back and sensibly took the end seat instead of squeezing past us again.