In 1998, an auction of the estate of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor causes great excitement. For one woman, Wally Winthrop, it has much more meaning. Wally becomes obsessed by their historic love story. As she learns more about the sacrifices involved, Wally gains her own courage to find happiness.
The production is nice looking, and telling the Edward-and-Wallis story from her side is an interesting idea, but it's one that Madonna simply can't pull off here.
– Bill Goodykoontz,
Arizona Republic,
16 Feb 2012
rotten:
A movie more concerned with how things look than how they feel.
– Connie Ogle,
Miami Herald,
1 Mar 2012
fresh:
The film is stylishly shot. And, in weaving the stories of Wally and Wallis, Madonna trusts viewers to move from mood to mood, era to era without overexplanation, the way music-video editing long ago trained us to.
– Lisa Kennedy,
Denver Post,
2 Mar 2012
rotten:
With "W.E." Madonna gorges on glamour, architectural porn and haute couture but starves the mind.
– Colin Covert,
Minneapolis Star Tribune,
5 Mar 2012
rotten:
It's hard to hate a movie that escorts us to such lovely locales, but instead of marking the territory as her own, Madonna has directed a potentially provocative story like a virgin.