At the Other Cinema last night I had the joy of watching W.E., the latest Madonna directed film that follows the story of Wallis Simpson and Prince / King Edward. I should say – there are no spoilers in this post!

I wondered about going to this film because I had only seen very negative reviews. The strength of my intrigue, however, to see how Madonna would take this classic story got me there and I was not disappointed! This film is worth watching – ignore the critics and go see for yourself!

Madonna both wrote the screenplay and directed and the results are, quite simply, stunning. I was mesmerised by much of the the film and loved the way Madonna’s skill in choreography shone through some of the carefully constructed walking scenes. Her mix of old and new were also exciting to see …. she uses the classic Sex Pistols ‘Pretty Vacant‘ in one scene … but as I said no spoilers here … you’ll have to see it to find out how!

This is a deep, sad, occasionally funny and sometimes hard to watch film. I think there is an autobiographical element here, and a load of religious symbolism to challenge the heart and mind. Ultimately it’s a film about love and sacrifice.

The two main characters are two very strong women. The film is also directed by a strong woman … and I wonder whether the (mainly) male critics just simply could not cope with so much proper women power around – there is no other conceivable reason for such poor reviews!

As I said above … if you get a chance … watch the film!