W.E. (stylised W./E.) is a 2011 historical romantic drama film written and directed by Madonna and starring Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, Oscar Isaac, Richard Coyle, and James D'Arcy. The screenplay was co-written by Alek Keshishian, 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 nomination for Best Costume Design. This marked Isaac's and Cornish's second film together after 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 Edward VIII's abdication of the British throne so he could marry American Wallis Simpson. 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 Wallis "Wally" Winthrop is a young American housewife living in New York City 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 and Wallis Simpson. Wally travels to the Sotheby's 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 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 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. 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 refuses to accept Edward's intention to marry Wallis because she is a divorcee. On the night of December 11, 1936, Edward announces by radio to the nation and the Empire 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, 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. 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'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 Andrea Riseborough as Wallis Simpson James D'Arcy as Edward VIII Oscar Isaac as Evgeni Richard Coyle as William Winthrop David Harbour as Ernest Simpson James Fox as George V Judy Parfitt as Queen Mary Haluk Bilginer as Mohamed Al-Fayed Geoffrey Palmer as Stanley Baldwin Natalie Dormer as Queen Elizabeth Laurence Fox as King George VI ("Bertie") Douglas Reith as Lord Brownlow Katie McGrath as Thelma, Lady Furness
Production
Development
Madonna had written the script for W.E. with director Alek Keshishian. Her husband Guy Ritchie helped her with the script and screenplay, advising her to meet with actors Mark Strong and Toby Kebbell (who had major roles in Ritchie's last film, RocknRolla). Madonna began writing W.E. after she finished directing Filth and Wisdom (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 the 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 the 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 England (1936–37) to 1998 New York City, and the storyline interweaves the two eras. Madonna decided to use the 1998 Sotheby's 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 Wallis Simpson 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 catalogs 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. The character was inspired by Eugene Hütz, 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 rumours 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 Andrea Riseborough. Evgeni was played by Oscar Isaac and Wally's husband, William, was played by Richard Coyle. Vera Farmiga was initially signed for the role of Simpson, but withdrew when she became pregnant.
The singer saw Riseborough as a young Margaret Thatcher in the BBC 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 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 Geoffrey Palmer was cast as Stanley Baldwin. Real-life father and son James and Laurence Fox were signed as King George V 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.