Review By Mr. Will Wong
None can fault the phenomenal work by Ana de Armas in Andrew Dominik‘s adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates‘ Novel, BLONDE. However, clocking-in at 166 minutes, this fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe’s rise and demise, feels one-dimensional, even though it explores the polarity between her public persona and personal demons.
The story begins grim and keeps gets grimmer as we meet a young Norma Jean (Lily Fisher) who is raised by her abusive mother Gladys (Julianne Nicholson), and eventually is institutionalized, leaving Norma Jean alone longing to know the true identity of her father. Norma Jean sets her sights high and achieves her dream of becoming a Movie Star with an uncanny ability to become some of her troubled characters, and she transforms into Marilyn Monroe (Ana de Armas). She is exploited and abused as she climbs her way up to megastardom. Second husband Joe DiMaggio (Bobby Cannavale) is threatened by her success and attention, and their relationship turns violent. She then marries Arthur Miller (Adrien Brody), but there isn’t a happily ever after there either. All the while she connects with whom she believes is her father through letters, longing to see him, before her addictions take control of her life, and her world begins to crumble.
BLONDE is incredibly-tough to watch. In chronicling each soured relationship and the prices that Monroe pays, the pacing feels languid and we never really get a break from the heaviness or what it is that keeps her going on in this endless series of punishments. Even when Monroe is living the glamorous life and at the pinnacle of her success, it never feels enjoyable or fun and in that we ponder if the Film truly ever captures her true essence. Monroe is always in her head, wanting nothing more than to please the men around her.
Chayse Irvin‘s Cinematography is sublime. The Film alternates between Colour and Black & White, switching Aspect Ratios. It looks and feels elegant, looking at Monroe‘s life through an empathetic 2022 lens. BLONDE isn’t a Biopic or a Drama, it is a Psychological Horror. Sex – and there is a gratuitous amount of this and nudity garnering its NC-17 rating – is depicted not as something that brings pleasure, but simply a transaction or a currency.
de Armas is superb, though surely some will be quick to point-out that the American accent isn’t quite there. She however, embodies Monroe‘s breathy sultriness and vulnerability with precision. We just wish she had a sleeker, more compact vehicle to showcase her brilliant work.
BLONDE is playing exclusively at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto beginning September 23, 2022 and arrives September 28, 2022 on Netflix.
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