I couldn't have been more surprised to learn that Madonna wrote, produced, and directed the movie I just watched, W.E. This movie is billed as a look at the romance between the Duke and Duchess of Windsor--before and after he abdicated the throne. But it's so much more.
And the more is a slowly evolving inspection of the pitfalls of romance, especially for women. What do women give up when they subscribe to the fairy tale of romance? Freedom, identity, self-respect, and sometimes, safety. We see these drawbacks not only with the Duchess, who it took me most of the movie to appreciate, but also with the contemporary woman, Wally Winthrop (named after Mrs. Wallis Simpson). We think we know both. But we don't. Through the course of the movie, what we discover are not only their secrets but their frustrations. For at a certain point in Wally's and Wallis's lives, they each realize that pursuing their romances will doom/has already doomed them. Worse, they seem captive to their circumstances because they've already given up too much control over their freedom and safety.
What I found particularly attractive about this movie was that it simultaneously seduced me into the royal romance while it repulsed me by the modern marriage. Eventually, there comes a point in the movie, where both fall apart.
What I found frightening was the end. While we see the Duchess twisting to pop music at the request of her dying husband (Don't smoke!), we also see our modern-day female enthusiastically informing her new knight in shining armor of her good news. Those final scenes are stripped of the reality of romance's female self-destruction. The movie ends without facing the hard reality that Wally's life is in shambles. Isn't she still married? Isn't her husband still a very scary guy? Isn't she now dependent on (at least living with) a guy she knows very little about? Aren't we back to square one?
So close...
I want to write Madonna:
"Dear Madonna,
Thanks for your movie. It was inspiring and thought-provoking.
However, did you notice that you undercut your anti-romance theme with the final scenes for both women. Please, consider a re-release and truncate the movie! End with the young wife as she finishes reading the Duchess's letters and realizes how colossally distraught she was and that romance is a trap for women. End with that epiphany--too late for an earlier time for not for the present--and you have a great anti-romance.
Again, thanks.
Best, Jennifer"
