W.E.

Viewers familiar with the details of the Duke of Windsor's 20th-century abdication as Britain's king in order to marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson should be able to follow this convoluted film—co-written and directed by Madonna—that ineptly blends dual stories, with W.E. standing for Wallis and Edward. In 1998 Manhattan, unhappily married Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) is obsessed with the upcoming auction of the estate of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, with whom she fantasizes a personal connection, since she was named after Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough), the charismatic, calculating social-climber who captured the heart of King Edward VIII (James D'Arcy) in the 1930s. During her daily visits to Sotheby's, where she's befriended by a Russian-émigré security guard (Oscar Isaac), Wally learns more about the scorn Wallis suffered and sacrifices she made to marry Edward. After traveling to London to read private letters owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed (father of Dodi, Princess Diana's lover), Wally follows Wallis's “get a life” advice, mustering the necessary courage to leave her abusive psychiatrist husband (Richard Coyle) and pursue her own happiness. Although the Windsors were arguably shallow, materialistic Nazi sympathizers—entertained by Hitler at his Berchtesgaden sanctuary in 1937—W.E. takes a simpler view of history, emphasizing glossy production design, cliché-riddled dialogue, and glamorous garb, with the occasional anachronistic touch (in one imagined sequence, Wallis dirty-dances to the Sex Pistols' “Pretty Vacant”; in another, she gyrates to Chubby Checker's “The Twist”). A flimsy disjointed drama, this is not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette with filmmaker Madonna (23 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)