Review: Blonde

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Blonde gives us a look into the traumatic life of Marilyn Monroe. (Ana de Armes) The big word here is traumatic. 

I don't think you can escape the discourse surrounding Blonde on the internet right now. It's a widely hated movie and I completely understand why. I didn't like it either, but I also didn't end up hating it as much as I expected to.

This film wants you to know that Marilyn had Daddy issues with a capital D. Her absentee father is a lingering thorn in her side. She calls all her lovers "daddy" which is exactly as cringy as it sounds. Nearly every single scene Marilyn is in, she cries. It's depressing. There's no happiness to be found here. If Marilyn isn't crying, or calling someone daddy, she's being forced to have an abortion, or a miscarriage, all while we get CGI fetus shots to really hammer it home. It's foul. 

On the flip side, it's technically very well made. The cinematography, the editing, the beautiful score, those are all great and it's frustrating that the screenplay is nowhere in the same league as the work the rest of the crew put in. Director/Writer Andrew Dominik is just more interested in her pain than anything else. He has some great moments as a director, like when famous pictures we've seen of Marilyn are re-created, but the writing is atrocious. 

This is definitely a Netflix movie. If you don't have the service, I wouldn't pay to see this in theaters. Especially if you're a Marilyn fan, I think you'll leave this being more frustrated than anything else. Ana does give an excellent performance, accent aside.

Grade: C- (though if we're talking screenplay, solid D to F, but I feel bad bringing the whole movie down when everyone else did their jobs so well)

Comments

  1. BirgitOctober 4, 2022 at 7:59 AM

    The actress looks like Monroe and I heard she does the job ok except for her talking. I heard about the backlash so maybe this film centres too much on the negative aspects of her life. Marilyn did have a volatile life but she had good moments too. It seems the director decided to be heavy handed. I’d like to see it to compare to other films about Marilyn but, I bet, it will not measure up. I actually like the one with Ashley Judd. She plays one part of Marilyn..I can’t recall who plays the other part but it was interesting.

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    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 5, 2022 at 10:00 AM

      Oh yeah, it's worth seeing for a comparison. It's on Netflix, so it's easy to watch.

      Delete
  2. thevoid99October 4, 2022 at 5:04 PM

    I don't think this is a film about Marilyn Monroe but rather a film about Norma Jeane Baker but it's completely fiction that is based on reality. I consider it to be an anti-bio-pic and I can understand why some people wouldn't like it and that's OK. Yeah, I don't like the "daddy" bit as that's just disgusting. Still, I thought it was a great film and I thought Ana fucking knocked it out of the park. Yeah, I know I'm going to get a lot of hate and being cancelled over my review.

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 5, 2022 at 9:59 AM

      That's true, it's definitely about Norma rather than Marilyn. I'm looking forward to reading your review!

      Delete

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