The story of Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII is a fascinating one. Even as they passed through The King's Speech in a supporting storyline(played then by Guy Pearce and Eve Best), the idea of a monarch giving up his throne to be with his multi-divorced, American socialite lover is the stuff storybook romances are made of. Madonna, who co-wrote the script and makes her first feature directorial effort since 2008's Filth and Wisdom(which nobody saw and for good reason), clearly sees something of herself in Wallis, a woman who to the very lenient was an innocent bystander as the American paparazzi skewered her on a regular basis. More critical eyes will note Wallis' guile and opportunistic nature in all things, but most obviously in how she used her charms to woo her way into the upper echelons of society, even if it meant thrusting England into a constitutional crisis at a time when it could least afford it. The various interpretations of Simpson and Edward's scandalous affair is part of what makes them so intriguing, but Madonna has no interest in exploring any of that, content only with the thinnest representation as possible.
Yet, Madonna's decision to present such an idealized view of Wallis(Andrea Riseborough) and Edward(James D'arcy), the future King of England, would have been tolerable if not for the questionable way in which she chooses to tell it. Divided into two separate but connecting stories, one set in 1998 and following poor Wally Winthrop(Abbie Cornish), the beleaguered wife of an arrogant but highly successful doctor. Essentially a trophy wife, Wally endures his emotional and physical abuse, even as she struggles to get pregnant through a series of fertility injections. Finding an emotional void in her life, Wally becomes obsessed with the story of Wallis and Edward, which she sees as the perfect fairy tale romance. Unable to resist hovering around a collection of their personal belongings up for auction, she looks for answers to her own problems by looking at their pasts, and in the process maybe finds new love with a surprisingly astute security guard(Oscar Isaac).
Slipping back and forth through time to draw some rather slim parallels between the two women, it becomes increasingly less clear why Madonna split the narrative this way when clearly her interests lie in the past. The best way to explain it is that she had an overabundance of artistic energy and no idea how to harness it, as some of her flourishes make no sense. Sometimes it's hard to tell if she's shooting a biopic or a bad commercial for blue jeans or perfume. The confusion is amplified by an oddly selected soundtrack, especially when a drug fueled party thrown by Wallis and Edward roars to life accompanied by the Sex Pistols.
Even if some of the creative choices are bizarre, at least the historical segments have some flair to them. The present day scenes are a crashing bore and shot in as flat a tone as possible. Abbie Cornish, usually such a firecracker on screen, is helpless against the bland cinematography and silly, melodramatic script. There has scarcely been a love more dull than that of Wally and her all too perfect Russian guard who comes off a little stalkerish as he watches her anxiously through the security cameras.
Wallis was treated pretty shabbily in The King's Speech, but Andrea Riseborough tries to give her a touch more depth despite not having much to work with on the writing front. We see Wallis' intensity and devotion to the man she loves, even as she knows she'll be forever hated for taking the King away from his people. D'arcy is forgettable as Edward, especially when compared to Guy Pearce's previous charismatic turn. It's really unfortunate that this film had to come out in the wake of the 2010 Best Picture winner, because it's impossible not to compare, and when done so W.E. is found to be severely lacking.
