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Blonde Movie Review: Director Dominik paints Marilyn Monroe as weak, desperate for love

Blonde Movie Review: Director Dominik paints Marilyn Monroe as weak, desperate for love

"Blonde" uses and abuses Marilyn Monroe in the same way that so many men did during her terrible, all-too-brief existence.

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Blonde Blonde

"Blonde" uses and abuses Marilyn Monroe in the same way that so many men did during her terrible, all-too-brief existence. Instead of reimagining the life of Hollywood's most enduring icons, explores her personal life and the destiny that used her as a pawn to get her free from a toxic man. The film just shows her victimization without allowing her any control over herself.

The story begins with a small girl celebrating her birthday 10 minutes before she learns she is an unwanted child, her mother is now attempting to kill her, and the next thing she knows she is an orphan. “I am not an Orphan, my daddy promised he will come,” says Norma Jean Baker (Marilyn Monroe’s real name).

The director Andrew Dominik continues to focus on a young girl who is always looking for her 'daddy.' A faceless guy who once promised to come, so she looks for him in every man who shows her affection regardless of the connection and ends up being used against her will, hoping that this one will be her redemption.

On the other hand, Ana de Armas is a force of nature, and nothing can stop her from reaching excellence in every role she takes on. It took the actor 9 months to learn Marilyn's accent, and she does an excellent job of portraying the cult icon. 

Even after all the backlashes, when she received after the release of the promo, many viewers claimed to detect her Cuban/Spanish accent coming through. But nothing overshadows her brilliant performance in every frame of the film, the vulnerability, and the mayhem.

She was an excellent actress. However, the filmmaker is once again more interested in analyzing her body than in exploring inside her head.

Monroe's life was difficult, but there was more to it than Dominik thinks, as seen by the films she left behind - ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’, ‘How to Marry a Millionaire’, ‘Some Like It Hot’, ‘The Misfits’- the entire filmography. Monroe was more than a victim of men's predation, it's because he too played that awful role in this film.

Edited By: Puja Mahanta
Published On: Nov 20, 2022