Directed by: Madonna
Starring: Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, James D’Arcy
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed by: Image Entertainment
DVD Release Date: May 1, 2012
Run Time: 119 minutes
Film: 2 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1 out of 5 stars
Who doesn’t love Madonna? Unfortunately her filmmaking skills aren’t as sharp as her music skills. “W.E.” is a decent love story but gets over complicated and loses focus fast. Madonna also did a song for the film titled, “Masterpiece”, and in fact the song won the 2012 Golden Globe® Award for Best Original Song (Motion Picture). The song is great but the film does not have the same award winning qualities.
The film features two love stories, one historic and one contemporary, which are both interwoven. We follow the famous romance between King Edward VIII and American divorcée Wallis Simpson. The second romance deals with the affair of a Russian security guard with a New York trophy wife Wally Winstrhop. The romance is there and the writing is decent but overall, the film drags major over the two hours.
This release comes with the following; a Blu-ray disc, a DVD disc and also a Digital Copy disc of the film. The 1080p video looks sharp and clear, especially with its locations where it was shot. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is impressive. The special features are lacking though just like the film. The only extra included is a featurette called “The Making of W.E.”.