Film: Blonde

 

GENRE: Biography Drama
RATING: NC-17 for nudity and graphic sexual content
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 47 minutes
PLATFORM: Netflix
STARRING: Ana de Armas (Knives Out, No Time to Die, The Gray Man)
Adrien Brody (The Pianist); Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire)
DIRECTOR: Andrew Dominik (Chopper, Mindhunter, Killing Them Softly)
WRITER: Dominik (Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward…)
PLOT: A fictionalized biography of the inner life of Marilyn Monroe.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I like de Armas and she looks good as Monroe.       

STORY STUFF: I’ll be honest that I was not aware of much of Monroe’s life except for a couple films and some of the men she was with. While there are iconic moments, this film is filled with fictionalized conversations and inner turmoil. I think there are parts that can be trimmed. I understand there is a certain sexuality that is connected to Marilyn Monroe, but there is a lot of lingering shots that are too voyeuristic and made me roll my eyes. There are some straight forward narratives but most of this film feels like watching a fever dream and that gets tiresome for me for some reason.  

ACTING STUFF: De Armas is fantastic as Monroe. She has the sex appeal but also the sadness, the exuberance and the prima donnishness. With the exception of her crazy mother played scarily by Julianne Nicholson (Mare of Eastown), Monroe is mostly surrounded by men. Lots of great performances including Brody and Cannavale. At one point, I wasn’t sure if Whitey, played by Toby Huss (Weird), was a figment of her imagination but found out he was a make-up artist that was always around her. I enjoyed Huss’ caring role.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Dominik is extremely experimental. There are strange cuts, bizarre angles, blurs and lighting flashes. It all works for his vision and I enjoy a lot of the visuals but some of them are a little too weird for my taste. I was not a fan of the music. You’ll notice that the aspect ratio and color changes to black and white constantly in the film. I was looking for some deeper meaning but found out it that was used more to just show dual natures and highlight specific iconography associated with Marilyn Monroe. It worked for me.

VERDICT: Three and half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You are old enough and can stand a star’s breakdown
UPCOMING REVIEW:  Don’t Worry Darling