Perhaps it's because it had to play second fiddle to Carnage today, but there haven't been many reviews filed thus far for W.E. Or maybe critics were simply left unaroused / unmotivated. Guy Lodge, for instance, of incontention.com, only has so far managed a few choice tweets (@GuyLodge) on the film: "Absurd charm-bracelet film in which we learn how little Madonna knows about love, history, humanity, narrative."

Theme: Messy, amateurish with nice costuming.

In hindsight, this film shouldn't even be considered in this post. Madonna as a director certainly never inspired me with much hope, but I did get caught up in the hype of the Weinsteins pulling the trigger on and purchasing it before it ever formally debuted. Guess I was as wrong as they were.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/venice_11_review_w.e_madonna_abbie_cornish_premiere/
Madonna's visual approach could best be described as “throw it at the wall and see what sticks.” The camera barely sits still, stock changes from shot to shot, people walk down corridors in slow motion, all without rhyme or reason. And she can’t really block a scene either, which is most notable during a crucial declaration of love staged with David chasing Wallis around a tree. It doesn’t help that the editing is virtually nonsensical, and never misses an opportunity for a half-assed match cut.

http://whatculture.com/film/venice-2011-review-madonnas-w-e.php
The film feels a little long and that is a problem for a movie that runs only for two hours. Other than that it was very interesting to watch. Visually stunning, with great set decorations and costume design that brought back to life the splendor of those years.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/sep/01/w-e-madonna-wallis-simpson-review.
A primped and simpering folly, the turkey that dreamed it was a peacock. What an extraordinarily silly, preening, fatally mishandled film this is. It may even surpass 2008's Filth and Wisdom, Madonna's calamitous first outing as a film-maker. Her direction is so all over the shop that it barely qualifies as direction at all. W.E. gives us slo-mo and jump cuts and a crawling crane shot up a tree in Balmoral, but they are all just tricks without a purpose.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/8735064/Venice-Film-Festival-2011-W.E.-review.html
A curious notion, and not truly an enticing one. Yet W.E. is rather better than expected; it’s bold, confident and not without amusing moments.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/we-venice-film-review-230267
The film most closely resembles a sumptuous documentary about a young beauty on an exclusive shopping expedition.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117945931/
Burdened with risible dialogue and weak performances, pic doesn't have much going for it apart from lavish production design and terrific, well-researched costumes -- and it's in focus, which is more than can be said for the script.