W. / E.

W.E. is a film written, directed and produced by Madonna.  The story follows two women with similar experiences of love, Wally Winthrop (played by actress Abbie Cornish) and Wallis Simpson (played by actress Andrea Riseborough).  This film is a classic love story with an amazing twist.  This film grabs the viewers? attention at the very beginning with a less than subtle graphic opening.  You later come to find that the opening scene is with Wally and her husband and their relationship has landed on hard times.  To deal with the stress, Wally finds a release while delving into the life of Wallis, a commoner who escapes the Royal family to be with King Edward VIII, which happens over 60 years in the past.

The movie continues in a parallel direction and shows the trials and tribulations of each woman?s love life.   Wally becomes obsessed with finding out every detail of Wallis' life.  She starts to rummage through the Duke and Duchess, (Wallis and King Edward, W.E.), estate after their death to see if she can come up with jeweled bits of information about the goings on of their life.  She even finds places in the city where Wallis had visited before and daydreams of her life.

Wally is thoroughly impressed by Wallis? fairytale love story but she starts to find that the grass is not always greener on the other side.  Come to find out, Wallis has plenty to share about her love story and how her royal-blooded marriage also had its ups and downs.  Wally starts to turn the tides and she than goes down the path to find her own true love; real true love.

With exceptional cinematography and a well-orchestrated dialogue, I left this film feeling thoroughly impressed as well as surprised that this film managed to keep my attention from beginning to end.  Great story.  Great casting.  Good dialogue and a perfect ending.  This film would be ideal for all fans of a great love story with a surprising twist.