''W.E.'' (stylised ''W./E.'') is a 2011

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

written and directed by

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

and starring Abbie Cornish,

Andrea Riseborough Andrea Louise Riseborough (born 20 November 1981) is an English actress and producer. She made her film debut with a small part in ''Venus'' (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008), '' Never Let Me Go ...

Oscar Isaac Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is a Guatemalan-born American actor. Known for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Latino characters in Hollywood. He was named the best actor of his gener ...

, Richard Coyle, and James D'Arcy. The screenplay was co-written by

Alek Keshishian Alek Keshishian ( hy, Ալեք Գևորգի Քեշիշեան, born 30 July 1964) is an Armenian-born American film and commercial director, writer, producer and music video director. His 1991 documentary, '' Madonna: Truth or Dare'' was the high ...

, who previously worked with Madonna on her 1991 documentary '' Truth or Dare'' and two of her music videos. Although the film was panned by critics and was a box office bomb, it received an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for Best Costume Design. This marked Isaac's and Cornish's second role together, the first being '' Sucker Punch''. The film tells the story of two women separated by over six decades. In 1998, lonely New Yorker Wally Winthrop is obsessed with King Edward VIII's abdication of the British throne so he could marry American

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...

. But Wally's research, including several visits to Sotheby's auction of the Windsor estate, reveals that the couple's life together was not as perfect as she thought. Traveling back and forth in time, ''W.E.'' intertwines Wally's journey of discovery in New York with the story of Wallis and Edward from the early days of their romance to the unraveling of their lives over the following decades.

Plot

Wally Winthrop is a young American housewife living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1998. Although she is neglected, abused, and left sexually frustrated by William, her workaholic psychiatrist husband, she is comforted by the love story of

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

and

. Wally travels to the

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

auction of the Windsor estate, which showcases items used by Wallis and Edward in their lifetime and evokes their relationship. In 1930, Edward throws a party at his new home at Fort Belvedere in

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of , including a deer park, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park was, for many ...

and meets Wallis through Lady Furness (his mistress). They are attracted to each other (despite Wallis' marriage to Ernest Simpson), and become lovers while Lady Furness is abroad. At Sotheby's Wally is interrupted by a guard, Evgeni, who is interested in her. Edward and Wallis continue their affair while touring Europe, where he gives her jewels and adopts the initials W.E. By the end of 1934, Edward is obsessed with Wallis. He introduces her to his parents,

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

and Queen Mary, but she is criticized by Edward's sister-in-law Elizabeth. A distraught Wallis wants to end the relationship, but Edward pacifies her. In New York, William refuses to conceive a child with Wally and she turns to

in vitro fertilisation In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...

. Attracted to Evgeni, she goes on a date with him. Wally asks Evgeni about Edward and Wallis' story, pondering her relationship with William. After attending the auction at Sotheby's and spending ten thousand dollars, Wally returns home to a drunken William and they fight. The

National Government A national government is the government of a nation. National government or National Government may also refer to: * Central government in a unitary state, or a country that does not give significant power to regional divisions * Federal governme ...

refuses to recognise Edward and Wallis' relationship because she is a divorcée. On the night of December 11, 1936, Edward announces by radio to the nation and the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

that he is abdicating the throne in favour of his brother Bertie: "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King, as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I love." Wallis, who has fled to Villa Lou Viei near

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

, hears the speech and reconciles with Edward. Evgeni desperately tries to phone Wally. Racing to her apartment, he finds that she has been injured by William and brings her to his home in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. As she recovers, Wally finds new hope with Evgeni and the courage to divorce William. Reading a series of letters in billionaire

Mohamed Al-Fayed Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...

's collection, Wally realises that Wallis was trapped in her relationship with Edward for the rest of her life. In an imaginary dialogue with Wallis, they discuss the similarity of their lives; in the end, only Wally finds happiness. Abandoning her fascination with Wallis and Edward's relationship, Wally learns from her doctor that she is finally pregnant.

Cast

* Abbie Cornish as Wally Winthrop *

* James D'Arcy as King Edward VIII *

as Evgeni * Richard Coyle as William Winthrop *

David Harbour David Kenneth Harbour (born April 10, 1975) is an American actor. He has played supporting roles in films such as ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005), ''Quantum of Solace'' (2008), '' State of Play'' (2009), ''The Green Hornet'' (2011), ''End of W ...

as Ernest Simpson * James Fox as

* Judy Parfitt as Queen Mary *

Haluk Bilginer Nihat Haluk Bilginer (; born 5 June 1954) is a Turkish actor. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera ''EastEnders'' ...

Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to: Politicians *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicestershire *Geoffrey Pal ...

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...

Natalie Dormer Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982)Queen Elizabeth * Laurence Fox as

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

("Bertie") *

Douglas Reith Douglas Reith is a British actor and teacher. He is best known for his role as Lord Merton in the television series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010-2015), as well as its two follow-up films. Early life Reith was born in Melton, Suffolk. He studied acti ...

as Lord Brownlow * Katie McGrath as Thelma, Lady Furness

Production

Development

Madonna had written the script for ''W.E.'' with director

. Her husband Guy Ritchie helped her with the script and screenplay, advising her to meet with actors

Mark Strong Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963), is a British actor, best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus in '' Stardust'' (2007), Archibald in ''RocknRolla'' (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (20 ...

and

Toby Kebbell Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 9 July 1982) is an English ...

(who had major roles in Ritchie's last film, ''

RocknRolla ''RocknRolla'' is a 2008 action crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven, and Chris ...

''). Madonna began writing ''W.E.'' after she finished directing ''

Filth and Wisdom ''Filth and Wisdom'' is a 2008 British comedy-drama film directed by Madonna, starring Eugene Hütz, Holly Weston, Vicky McClure and Richard E. Grant. It was filmed on location in London, England, from 14 to 29 May 2007. Locations included two ...

'' (2008). She had the idea for ''W.E.'' before ''Filth and Wisdom'', but directed the latter because she felt that she lacked the experience to direct a big-budget film. Madonna described ''W.E.'' as a much bigger story:

There are more characters, and three of them basically changed the course of British history. King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to be with an American woman, Wallis Simpson, and that's part of my story, so I've had to do an enormous amount of research and interview people. So I have an enormous responsibility to that, and then I have a responsibility to the actual auction, which really happened. Then there's the new story, the point of view, which is this girl who has this obsession and is going to the auctions and stuff. So it's a much more layered, complicated piece than ''Filth and Wisdom''.

After the writing began, Madonna realised that she needed help due to the breadth of the subject. She enlisted Keshishian, who was well-acquainted with Madonna after directing 1991 documentary '' Truth or Dare'' and two of her music videos. The writing process was dynamic, with Madonna and Keshishian emailing developed scripts, telephoning, and writing on each other's laptops. Although ''W.E.'' was initially reported as a musical about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Madonna said that the main story was not about them. It was about Wally Winthrop: a young, married New Yorker in 1998 who is obsessed with what she thought was the ultimate love story— Edward's abdication of the royal throne because of his love for Simpson. Simpson's character was a spiritual guide for Winthrop in the film. Its timeline ranges from pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

England (1936–37) to 1998 New York City, and the storyline interweaves the two eras. Madonna decided to use the 1998

auction of Edward and Simpson's estate as a pivot point.

Inspiration

Madonna was inspired to direct the film by the controversial lives of Edward and Simpson. She said that if she brought up King Edward VIII and

at a dinner party or other social gathering, "It's like throwing a Molotov cocktail into the room. Everyone erupts into an argument about who they were. I mean, they were very controversial – and continue to be. So, of course, I'm very attracted to that." Madonna studied the history of the abdication, and tried to understand what led Edward to give up the throne. The singer spent two years researching Simpson's life and writing the script. She wallpapered an empty room in her house with pictures from auction catalogues and photographs of the Duke and Duchess at different ages. "I was sitting in a room that was completely and utterly inundated with their images so I could soak up their energy. I was trying to understand the nature of their love story and trying to figure out for myself if there is such a thing as perfect love," she said. Uninterested in a biopic about Simpson, Madonna created a modern-day story about Wally Winthrop to provide a point of view: "We can all read the same history book and have a different point of view. So it was important for me to not present the story and say, 'This is the one and only story,' but to say, 'This story moved me and inspired me.' That's how the two love stories were created." One of the first characters Madonna developed for the film was Evgeni, a Russian immigrant living in Brooklyn and working in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The character was inspired by

Eugene Hütz Eugene Hütz (; uk, Євген Гудзь, Yevhen Hudz, ; born Yevgen Oleksandrovych Nikolayev-Symonov, ua, Євген Олександрович Ніколаєв-Симонов, on 6 September 1972) is a Ukrainian-born singer, composer, disc ...

, who played the lead role in ''Filth and Wisdom''. Another motivation for the project was Edward and Simpson, who became the subject of media scrutiny and public vilification and were ostracised by the royal family. Madonna, interested in the cult of celebrity, found that many of the rumors surrounding Simpson's life were unfounded and wanted to portray Simpson as a human being with imperfections and a vulnerable side. "The message of the film is to realise that in the end happiness lies in your own head and that we are in fact in charge of our destiny," she said.

Casting

Madonna began work casting ''W.E.'' after returning from Africa, where she had been on vacation. She remembered finding the casting difficult, since many refused to sign for a particular role. Madonna contrasted the process of film casting with recording a new album, where she can easily choose people with whom she wants to work. Abbie Cornish was signed to play Wally Winthrop, while King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson were played by James D'Arcy and

. Evgeni was played by

and Wally's husband, William, was played by Richard Coyle.

Vera Farmiga Vera Ann Farmiga ( ; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress who is best known for portraying paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films '' The Conjuring'' (2013), '' The Conjuring 2'' (2016), '' Annabelle Co ...

was initially signed for the role of Simpson, but withdrew when she became pregnant. The singer saw Riseborough as a young

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

film, '' The Long Walk to Finchley'', and wanted her to play Simpson: "I was looking for a certain quality: something fragile, androgynous and yet feminine in a really old-fashioned way. When I saw Andrea, I knew immediately she was the one". Cornish said about her role as Winthrop, "Madonna is a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a man to define her – and that's admirable. She's studied every aspect of what happened with Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII ..It's a fascinating insight into class and romance. Madonna's created a contemporary woman—who I will play—called Wally, who is fascinated by what happened to Mrs. Simpson." Madonna's daughter Lourdes was offered a part, but the singer decided against the idea. However, she later allowed Lourdes to appear in the film as a young Wally Winthrop. Ewan McGregor was offered the role of King Edward VIII, but he was replaced by James D'Arcy. Producer David Parfitt and casting director Nina Gold left ''W.E.'', with sources reporting that they had "creative differences" with Madonna and found that she struggled to "collaborate and delegate".

Margo Stilley Margo Stilley (born November 20, 1982) is an American actress. Early life Stilley was born in Conway, South Carolina, and grew up between there and Swansboro, North Carolina. She was raised in a strict Baptist household in America's Bible Belt ...

was signed to play Lady Thelma Furness but left the project, citing "artistic differences" with Madonna: "I had the role, but we had artistic differences. She (Madonna) is really something. I wish the cast luck because they are all really talented." She was replaced by Katie McGrath. Judy Parfitt was signed to play Queen Mary, and

was cast as

. Real-life father and son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

and Laurence Fox were signed as

and his son, Bertie (Edward's younger brother). The BBC reported that members of the London Welsh Center expressed an interest in appearing in a scene in which Edward is shocked by the living conditions in Welsh mining villages. A spokesperson for the centre, which was contacted by the film's casting agency, said: "I've had about 15 phone calls this morning, and yesterday was bedlam because everybody wants to be in a film with Madonna." The centre said that Welsh speakers were needed as extras in scenes of Edward's visits to the South Wales valleys in the 1930s.

Natalie Dormer Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982)Queen Elizabeth (Queen Mother). Dormer said about the role, "This country tends to remember the Queen Mother as a rather wrinkly 97-year-old, but I am playing her when she was quite an enchanting, engaging twenty- and thirty-something ..She was quite a savage and savvy game player." Dormer's assessment of the role was noted by royal historian

Hugo Vickers Hugo Ralph Vickers DL (born 12 November 1951) is an English writer and broadcaster. Early life The son of Ralph Cecil Vickers, M.C., a stockbroker, senior partner in the firm of Vickers, da Costa, by his marriage in 1950 to Dulcie Metcalf, ...

, who was asked by Madonna to advise her about the characteristics of members of the royal family and confirmed that Madonna depicted the Queen Mother as an unfavorable influence on the relationship between Edward VIII and Simpson.

Filming

Wanting ''W.E.'' to be as authentic as possible, Madonna wanted to film in locations where the royal family live. She moved to the United Kingdom, since the film would take six months to shoot. Its budget was £11 million ($ million). Filming began on July 5, 2010; locations included London and the home counties, with trips to New York and France. Scenes were filmed on the top two floors of the Abingdon Pub, followed by scenes at Club Quarters in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

. Filming was also done at

Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire Stoke Park is a private sporting and leisure estate in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire. The mansion building (designed by James Wyatt in 1788) is located in the middle of of parkland, lakes, gardens and monuments. In 1908, it became the first count ...

The production moved to France, where Madonna shot scenes with D'Arcy and Riseborough on Palm Beach in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

on July 29, 2010, and in

Villefranche-sur-Mer Villefranche-sur-Mer (, ; oc, Vilafranca de Mar ; it, Villafranca Marittima ) is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera and is located south-west of the Principality of ...

on July 30. Scenes were filmed with Cornish at the

Le Meurice Le Meurice () is a Brunei-owned five-star luxury hotel in the 1st arrondissement of Paris opposite the Tuileries Garden, between Place de la Concorde and the Musée du Louvre on the Rue de Rivoli. From the Rue de Rivoli, it stretches to the Rue ...

hotel. While shooting with Riseborough, Madonna and her team asked

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia' ...

to create copies of Simpson's extensive gem collection for the film. A bracelet slipped off Riseborough's wrist and was lost in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

, and Madonna ordered an immediate replacement. Designer Arianne Phillips described filming which included Simpson's original jewelry:

We were able to use archival pieces from Van Cleef & Arpels, which came with a revolving door of security guards. The jewelry schedule was very complicated, because pieces had to go from Switzerland to Paris, and the shooting schedule was changing constantly. It was really a house of cards. There were a couple of times we got caught, scenes got moved up, and lucky for me, Madonna was able to make available her personal jewelry. When you see Wallis spraying the flowers with perfume, her black and white pearl and diamond
Bulgari Bulgari (, ; stylized as BVLGARI) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1884 and known for its jewellery, watches, fragrances, accessories, and leather goods. While the majority of design, production and marketing is overseen and exec ...
earrings are Madonna's.

Filming moved to New York in September, where Madonna shot scenes in Brooklyn. D'Arcy had to dance a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

in one scene; he did not know ballet, and Madonna asked him to learn the steps. According to D'Arcy, the scene was "this extraordinary beautiful dance with lifts and twirls and I can't do that, but you do because she adonnasomehow makes the impossible possible and it gives you amazing self-esteem when you do these things." Madonna also asked him to learn the

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...

in six weeks and to ride horses.

Costumes

After finishing the script and starting work on casting and production, Madonna realised that the film's budget would be high. Simpson's character had about 80 costume changes, with dresses by designers such as

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( ) is a luxury fashion house founded in 1919 by the Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain. Balenciaga produces ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to C ...

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

, Madeleine Vionnet, and

Elsa Schiaparelli Elsa Schiaparelli ( , also , ; 10 September 1890 – 13 November 1973) was a fashion designer from an Italian aristocratic background. She created the house of Schiaparelli in Paris in 1927, which she managed from the 1930s to the 1950s. ...

. Most of her actual dresses were in museums (and unobtainable by Madonna), but many of the couture houses offered to recreate the dresses for her. When she asked for a

Michael O'Connor Michael O'Connor may refer to: Politicians * Michael O'Connor (Australian politician) (1865–1940), Australian politician * Michael O'Connor (Wisconsin politician) (1856–1925), Wisconsin State Assemblyman * Michael J. O'Connor (politici ...

wedding dress (on display at the

National Museum of Costume The National Museum of Costume was located at Shambellie House, in New Abbey, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland and it formed part of the National Museums of Scotland. The museum started operating in 1982. The museum allowed a look at fashion and t ...

in Scotland) for a scene with Riseborough, museum general manager Margaret Roberts said that they were happy to send Madonna the dress: "Our Marriage in the Movies exhibition is packed with fabulous gowns that tell a story not only about the history of the period they represent, but also of Hollywood glamour and style ..This is a dress that was made for the movies, so when we received the request from Madonna's production company, we were only too happy to oblige." Other fashion designers who worked on the film included

John Galliano John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer from Gibraltar. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. Since 2014, Galliano has been the creat ...

and Issa, who provided clothes; Pierre Cartier supplied the jewels, and Stephen Jones the hats. Madonna enlisted costume designer

Arianne Phillips Arianne Phillips (born April 26, 1963) is an American costume designer. Phillips was recognized for her work on the Broadway musical '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', starring Neil Patrick Harris, earning her a Tony award nomination for Best Cost ...

to create the film's dresses. The costumes included vintage pieces; others were remade based on patterns obtained from the museum, and the rest were freshly made. In a November 2011 interview with '' W'' magazine, Philips said that she "started doing research in 2009, a year before 'W.E.''began filming ... To me, Wallis Simpson was a style icon, but I didn’t know she was a couture client well before she met Edward. She was also a hungry whore for jewelry. Edward gave Wallis jewelry to make her feel royal. My first task was figuring out how to re-create those famous gifts." Madonna sent a box of her research to Phillips so the designer could get a head start on the project. The singer understood the attention to detail needed to create the costumes, drawing from her own clothing which included

couture Couture may refer to: People * Couture (surname) Places Belgium * Couture-Saint-Germain, a village in the municipality of Lasne, Belgium Canada * Couture crater and Lac Couture, an impact crater and the lake that covers it in Quebec, Canada ...

. Phillips researched the clothing on display at the fashion departments of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York, the

Musée de la mode et du textile The Musée de la mode et du textile (Museum of Fashion and Textiles) was a museum located in the Louvre at, 107, rue de Rivoli, in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. It is now a department of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. Works fr ...

in Paris, and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in London. She then went to Los Angeles, where retailer Doris Raymond of The Way We Wore boutique opened her library of 1930s couture. There Phillips watched old newsreels from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

archives. When filming began, the designer moved into Madonna's guesthouse in London to watch the newsreels together and scrutinise the dresses. Phillips contacted designers such as Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels to replicate a cross bracelet and ten other pieces. For the gowns, undergarments, and dresses needed for Simpson's 60 costume changes in the film, Phillips scoured the archives of

Vionnet Madeleine Vionnet (; June 22, 1876, Loiret, France – March 2, 1975) was a French fashion designer. Vionnet trained in London before returning to France to establish her first fashion house in Paris in 1912. Although it was forced to close in 1 ...

and Schiaparelli and redesigned Simpson's clothing. Riseborough's first dress in the film was a re-creation of a dress owned by Simpson. Phillips accessorized one dress with an organza skirt and a diamond-bow brooch at the neck, and obtained duplicates of others from the Cos Prop costume store in London.

Some of the pieces that the duchess actually ordered I thought were hideous. Those wouldn’t work for the movie, so we modified and invented. Wallis wasn’t pretty; she was handsome, at best. In England, it was noted over and over how unattractive she was. But Wallis was a lot of fun—very entertaining. She had a freedom to her that was definitely reflected in her clothes; the duchess was all about presentation. And that became her refuge, and her prison.

According to Phillips, Edward's choice of clothes was specific and he rebelled against what his father dictated as the protocol for dress; he wore navy-blue tails (instead of black) as formal wear. The designer saw his original clothing at the

. To re-create the look, Phillips contacted the

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to n ...

company

Alfred Dunhill Alfred Dunhill (30 September 1872 – 2 January 1959) was an English tobacconist, entrepreneur and inventor. He is the progenitor of Alfred Dunhill, Ltd. a London-based luxury goods company owned by Swiss company Richemont and the Dunhill t ...

, which understood the

bespoke The word ''bespoke'' () has evolved from a verb meaning 'to speak for something', to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective ''bespoke'' described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned t ...

tailoring available in London's Savile Row. Dunhill provided Phillips with a tailor and fabrics from the mills which had created Edward's original fabrics. Phillips tailored the baggy look of the 1930s suits to make them appealing to a contemporary audience. All the costumes were hand-made, with a total of 60 costumes created for Simpson and 30 for Edward.

Music and soundtrack

Polish composer

Abel Korzeniowski Abel Korzeniowski (; born 18 July 1972) is a Polish composer of film and theatre scores. Life and career Korzeniowski was born in Kraków. He had contact with music from early childhood: his mother Barbara plays the cello and both his brothers A ...

composed the film's music. Madonna had heard Korzeniowski's work on the soundtrack of the 2009 drama film, '' A Single Man''. The singer remembered being "struck by the score's 'bittersweet' qualities, this melancholic, romantic, sweeping emotional kind of heartbreaking beauty." She asked ''A Single Man'' director, fashion designer Tom Ford, about Korzeniowski and decided to sign him to compose ''W.E.''s score. Madonna had incorporated parts of ''A Single Man'' score into the screenplay and rough cut of ''W.E.'' The score features

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, and the combination of instruments was used to bridge the film's two time periods. Korzeniowski and conductor Terry Davies recorded a 60-piece orchestra at London's

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

in April 2011, concentrating on the characters' emotional states; he was not very concerned with differentiating the film's time periods. The composer said in a '' Variety'' interview that for the scenes featuring Simpson, he tried to make the score more modern than for those with Winthrop. Madonna wanted Korzeniowski to keep the score simple and direct, thinking that as a classically trained musician he would overcomplicate the score. "It is not the type of score where you go through crazy harmonic changes and modulations," said the composer. "This was one of the very precise notes I got from Madonna, that I was not supposed to over-think this music." The score was inspired by the film's irrational love, which Korzeniowski said could be "just an illusion". He wanted the music to reflect the film's powerful and conflicting emotions through the melodies, which alternated between despair and sorrow and hope and joy. Madonna contributed "

Masterpiece A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

", a new song produced by

William Orbit William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...

which she co-wrote with Julie Frost and Jimmy Harry, to the soundtrack. In the song, she sings about the pain of being in love with someone who is a great work of art: "If you were the Mona Lisa/ You'd be hanging in the Louvre/ Everyone would come to see you/ You'd be impossible to move." A ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' writer described "Masterpiece" as a "slowed-down, moody ballad" which was "simple, direct and reminiscent of her sound in the 1990s". Its lyrics echo the film's love story: "And I'm right by your side/ Like a thief in the night/ I stand in front of a masterpiece/ And I can't tell you why it hurts so much to be in love with a masterpiece." The song plays over ''W.E.'' end credits and was later included on Madonna's album, '' MDNA''. The soundtrack was released digitally through

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

on January 31, 2012.

Promotion and release

In February 2011, Madonna held a private screening of the film's trailer at the Berlin International Film Festival. The screening, which included a question-and-answer session with the singer, was intended to sell the film to distributors. Its rights were sold to Optimum Releasing for the UK market,

the Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

for the United States release, and Village Roadshow for Australia and New Zealand. Weinstein promoted the film as Madonna's first full-length directorial film; the company considered the 81-minute ''

'' (her previous film) a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

. Although Madonna hoped to premiere the film at the

2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Ko ...

, it was not ready in time. ''W.E.'' was shown at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

on September 1, 2011, with Madonna and the principal cast attending the premiere. The film was also shown at the

2011 Toronto International Film Festival The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 8 and September 18, 2011. Buenos Aires, Argentina was selected to be showcased for the 2011 City to City programme. The opening film ...

that month. Stills from ''W.E.'' were published in the September 2011 issue of '' Vanity Fair'' magazine. In the film poster, D'Arcy carried Riseborough on his back in a romantic pose. David Wharton of Cinema Blend said that although the poster was "artfully" done, "It's the sort of thing the movie industry does all the time on their posters, just like the 'floating heads' trope or the 'looking through somebody's legs' pose ..but I'm a sucker for a well-done movie poster, and this just seems lazy." A second poster was released, featuring Riseborough and D'Arcy as Wallis and Edward about to kiss on a beach. In January 2012, Madonna appeared on two television shows and talked about the film. She first appeared on

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's ''

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'', where she chatted with host

Cynthia McFadden Cynthia McFadden (born May 27, 1956) is an American television journalist who is currently the senior legal and investigative correspondent for NBC News. She was an anchor and correspondent for ABC News who co-anchored ''Nightline'', and occasion ...

about ''W.E.'' Madonna then appeared on ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

'' with D'Arcy and Riseborough. The film premiered on January 11, 2012, in the UK and on January 23 in the US.

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

announced in June 2011 that it planned to release ''W.E.'' in New York and Los Angeles on December 9, 2011, expanding to additional markets during the month before a wide mid-January release. After the film's screenings at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, Weinstein decided to cut its running time by about ten minutes. Its planned release was changed to a limited, one-week run beginning on December 9, 2011, before a worldwide release on February 3, 2012.

Reception

Critical response

After its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, ''W.E.'' divided critics. On

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, the film has a score of 12% from 113 reviews, and an average rating of 4.24/10. The critical consensus reads; "''W.E.'' exhibits director Madonna's keen eye for striking style, but this shallow biopic is too enamored with aesthetics to offer any insight into its subject." It has a

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

score of 36 out of 100, indicating generally-unfavorable reviews. According to Steve Pond of ''

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'', ''W.E.'' probably would not help in "turning Madonna's faltering movie career". Kyle Buchanan of ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' wondered if ''W.E.'' would be a front-runner at the Golden Raspberry Awards. David Gritten of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' gave the film three stars and a mixed review: "''W.E.'' is a bold and confident story about an American woman's obsession with the Windsors". Gritten praised Riseborough and Cornish's performances, but thought that the film looked like a commercial for expensive items and fashion and appealed only to younger women. Xan Brooks of ''

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'' gave the film one star, describing it as "a primped and simpering folly, the turkey that dreamed it was a peacock." Todd McCarthy of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote that the film resembled a documentary about a woman on a shopping expedition, and found Wally and Evgeni's affair particularly dreary. Oliver Lyttelton of

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

also criticized the film, saying that "the use of music is horrible" and "We've never looked forward to Madonna going back on tour more, if only because it means that we'll know, for certain, that she won't be using that time to direct another movie." Although Mark Adams of ''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' singled out Riseborough's performance as a highlight, he found the film disappointing overall. Leslie Felperin of '' Variety'' was also disappointed in the film, writing that it was "burdened with risible dialogue and weak performances". More attention was paid to the costumes than to the story, which she felt had much potential. Colin Kennedy of ''

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'' called the film "disastrous", and its "judicious casting and handsome design eremarred by a callow director's shaky shot selection". Simon Reynolds of ''

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'' described the film as "impeccably turned out with exquisite costume design", but felt that it was "barely enough to disguise its wildly inconsistent tone, chop-change visual style and snoozy performances." Dan Carrier of '' Camden New Journal'' gave the film one star out of five, calling ''W.E.'' "a horrible film to watch" and saying that Madonna "should never be allowed to go anywhere near a director’s camera again." Diego Costa of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' gave the film three out of four stars. He called ''W.E.'' "a shameless visual pleasure" and a "perfectly fine piece of oneiric cinema", praising Madonna's direction and Korzeniowski's music. Damon Wise of ''

'' gave the film three out of five stars and noted the harsh criticism of Madonna: "A lot has been said about Madonna and her new film — about how bad and inept it is, as if it's somehow worse than 99 percent of the other movies released on a weekly basis. That's right: up there with ''Showgirls''. Let's give the director a break here." He praised Riseborough's performance and said, "In the short term, this will see ''W.E.'' dismissed as a vanity project but, in the long term, history may well find it to be a fascinating comment on 20th-century celebrity from the ultimate insider."

Box office

Madonna @ 69th Annual Golden Globes Awards 01 cropped

Globally, the film was a commercial failure. In the United Kingdom, ''W.E.'' opened in 172 cinemas and grossed £183,000 (including advance screenings). Despite its limited release, it was the week's 14th-top-grossing films and peaked at number 20 in its first week of UK

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sales.

Accolades

At the 69th Golden Globe Awards, ''W.E.'' won

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

for "Masterpiece" and Korzeniowski was nominated for Best Original Score. Although "Masterpiece" was shortlisted for the Best Original Song award at the 84th Academy Awards, it was not considered; according to

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

rules, a song is eligible only if it appears no later than the start of the final credits and "Masterpiece" is played more than one minute into the credits. Arianne Phillips received an award for Excellence in Period Film at the 14th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards and was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Costume Design The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design. The award was first given in 1949, for films made in 194 ...

References

External links

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