Directed By:
Dominik Writers
Written By:
Dominik Writers
Starring:
Ana de Armas, Lily Fisher, Julianne Nicholson
Genre:
Biography, Drama, Romance
Rated: NC-17
All media used courtesy of Netflix
Ana de Armas star as Marilyn Monroe in a film that over the course of it’s awards campaign has been met with praise and disgust in it’s portrayal of the Hollywood starlet. We see life through her perspective as she endures the ups and downs of fame, and the horrors of what Hollywood and society did to her.
Director Dominik Writers does a fantastic job with cinematographer Chayse Irvin setting up each frame to reflect a moment in time documented in photos or footage of Monroe. It’s almost shot for shot identical in some cases which was impressive to see. The writing works for the story being told, but whether the story will hit you depends on what you’re willing to see in film. This is an NC-17 film, which immediately takes away a significant portion of the audience. Once more, the nature of the graphic content in ‘Blonde’ could really trigger and upset victims of sexual assault. When I thought about that, I wondered if the ends justified what was on screen to still recommend this to you… but it didn’t.
I feel in many ways this story could have been told without glorifying in a certain view traumatic moments in someones life that has been shown constantly in film. Marylin Monroe is portrayed as often as Queen Elizabeth in film history- and while ‘Blonde’ shows some beautiful imagery, it’s story is not anything new to add to the story.
