Who’s *That* Woman? Madonna and Mrs. Simpson
The Duchess of Windsor, previously Wallis Simpson, is 'that woman,' the American divorcée for whom King Edward VIII abdicated his throne to marry (leaving baby brother Bertie to stutter his way to the top job). Sex, power, and glamour: Wallis was reviled by a scandalized (yet fascinated) public. No surprise that Wallis' brunette ambition captured the imagination of Madonna. W.E., her film structured around the Wallis and Edward romance, is now at the TIFF. For critics, reviewing Madonna's directing (and acting) is a bloodsport. After its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the Guardian describes W.E. as "a primped and simpering folly, preening and fatally mishandled."
Upcoming books revisiting Wallis are in the works, including That Woman by Anne Sebba due out next year.
Ms. Ciccone identifies with Ms. Simpson: "I think she felt an existential loneliness." Read more about her interest in Wallis here. Read Gus van Sant's piece on Madonna for Interview.
Madonna has another bizarre mission: to prove that the Duchess was not a Nazi sympathizer. In the Globe and Mail, Madonna states …"after years of research, I could find no empirical evidence proving she was a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer."
Madonna could have visited her local library to get help with her research.
Interested in Simpson and the royal abdication that rocked a nation? Further reading:
- The Darkness of Wallis Simpson and other Stories by Rose Tremain
- The War Memoir of (HRH) Wallis, Duchess of Windsor by Katherine Ausptiz
- Duchess: the Story of Wallis Warfield by Steven Birmingham
- The Duchess a.ka. Wallis Simpson by Linda Griffiths
- Wallis: the Novel by Anne Edwards
- The Duchess of Windsor: the Secret Life by Charles Higham
- The Duchess of Windsor by Michael Bloch
- Wallis & Edward, Letters 1931-1937: the Intimate Correspondence of the Duke and the Duchess of Windsor ed. by Michael Bloch
- The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor by Nicholas Rayner
- Famous Last Words by Timothy Findley
If you happen to get tickets to catch W.E. at the Toronto International Film Festival, let Madge know what you think.
Just don't give her any hydrangeas.
6 thoughts on “Who’s *That* Woman? Madonna and Mrs. Simpson”
Great post!!!
I do have a ticket to the gala on Monday evening at Roy Thompson Hall, and I can’t wait! I’ll report back.
Excellent, Janet! Looking forward to your review. Whatever else, it should be a fabulous evening 🙂
I saw the film last night at the big gala premiere at Roy Thompson Hall, and it was GREAT!
Madonna was there and spoke briefly to the audience before the film. The 2 female leads were also there, and the composer and the producer. They sat up in the balcony to watch the film, and got a standing ovation at the end.
The film was really beautiful. It kept switching back and forth between the stories of these two women living in different times.
– We see Wallace Simpson leading a priviledged life, meeting and starting a romance with Prince Edward. But we also see all the difficulties she faced and the problems they went through as a couple.
– We also meet Wally, a young woman in modern-day New York, who is obsessed with Wallace Simpson, and is mesmerized by Wallace and Edward items for sale at a Sotheby’s auction. She wonders what it feels like to be loved that much. Meanwhile she is going through difficulties in her marriage.
The film explores the parallels between their stories, and looks at the reality behind the romantic headlines of Wallace and Edward’s great romance.
The score was wonderful, but at times it swelled so much it was difficult to hear some dialogue.
It was really a beautiful film and I highly recommend it.
Janet! Our TIFF reporter – thank you for the review of this gala – and it sounds like you had a great time. Your positive review (and there aren’t many 🙂 will give us all something to look forward to when the film gets its theatrical release.
Uh oh….more trouble for her Madgesty…..
http://www.680news.com/entertainment/article/277077–madonna-s-publicist-refutes-reports-singer-made-tiff-volunteers-look-away