{"id":65403,"date":"2022-09-29T15:33:42","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T15:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=221492"},"modified":"2022-09-29T16:08:23","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T16:08:23","slug":"netflix-blonde-review","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/netflix-blonde-review\/","title":{"rendered":"It Was Highly Anticipated, But \u2018Blonde\u2019 Is Brassy at Best"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Think of the slowest film you\u2019ve ever sat through, then slow it down even more. That\u2019s the pace of <\/span>Blonde<\/span><\/i>, the extremely hyped <\/span>Netflix<\/span><\/a> film loosely based on Marilyn Monroe\u2019s life, starring Ana de Armas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We had good reason to be excited for <\/span>Blonde<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>Ana de Armas<\/span><\/a>\u2019 arresting performance in trailers saw the Cuban actress transformed into Monroe\u2019s exact likeness (a little accent controversy aside) and the material certainly had legs \u2014 the film is based on Joyce Carol Oates\u2019 biographical fiction novel of the same name, released to critical acclaim in 2000. It should have been great.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s just past mediocre.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why the film falls flat has a lot to do with the way it was marketed. This is Marilyn Monroe we are talking about \u2014 any film about the biggest Hollywood star in history is going to draw audiences beyond the high-brow cinephiles. I am no cinephile. I wanted a story, but most importantly I expected a story. What I got was a cobbled together series of cinematically beautiful scenes that alone, often landed magnificently, but together felt disjointed and clumsy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"blonde\"
The cinematography is stunning, but at what cost? Image: Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We start with young Norma Jean dealing with a troubled childhood. The film had me initially \u2014 Julianne Nicholson shines as Jean\u2019s unstable mother, and her slow descent into madness seen through the eyes of a child is done well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I ended up lost when we jumped to Norma Jean as an adult, navigating the toxicity of Hollywood as a young actress. Routinely underestimated at best, sexually assaulted at worst, Monroe\u2019s Hollywood experience in <\/span>Blonde<\/span><\/i> mirrors accusations made in the height of the #MeToo era \u2014 like many modern-day actresses, <\/span>Blonde<\/span><\/i>\u2019s Monroe suffers at the hands of powerful men on her road to stardom. This kind of story-building should work \u2014 Monroe has always been a tragic Hollywood figure, sexualized by men only to be used and thrown away. Detailing macro and micro-aggressions that lead to her demise is what we all expected this film to be about. But the way this back story is delivered comes via overwrought, arthouse-heavy scenes that feel like they\u2019ve been directed as individual short films, not as a whole.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t exactly surprising. <\/span>Blonde<\/span><\/i> was written and directed by Andrew Dominik, the man behind <\/span>The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford<\/span><\/i>, another fiction-based-on-fact film renowned for its snail-like pace. Dominik loves A Scene \u2014 beautifully shot, considered moments in film. In my opinion, he loves these to the detriment of the story sometimes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The snail-like pace makes Blonde a difficult watch. Image: Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In <\/span>Blonde<\/span><\/i>, we jump from black and white to color. From Golden Age Hollywood glitz to talking fetuses. Yes, talking fetuses. Some of these moments are powerful \u2014 a harrowing abortion scene speaks to the level of control women in Hollywood were (and often still are) under, a screening of <\/span>Gentlemen Prefer Blondes<\/span><\/i> hones in on a distracted Monroe, then pans out to show a sea of beaming faces \u2014 perfectly depicting the star\u2019s disconnect from who the world perceives her to be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some are bizarre, or feel unnecessarily explicit. There is a point-of-view abortion shot. Lengthy, gratuitous lingering on Monroe\u2019s bloomers during that iconic subway grate dress moment. A lot of nudity, and a lot of sex. Some of these provocative moments work \u2014 <\/span>Blonde<\/span><\/i>\u2019s Monroe is just a body, a vehicle for the many men around her. This hits home when the camera is so fixated on sex. But more often than not the relentless <\/span>art<\/span><\/i> of this film is its downfall.<\/span><\/p>\n

That art isn’t just about the scenes themselves, but the sheer length of them. This film is\u00a0so long<\/em>. It’s almost three hours of viewing. Yes, this seems to be a trend \u2014 Elvis<\/em> notoriously also stretches for over two-and-a-half hours. There is a lot to cover, but with so many lingering shots and slow-paced scenes, it’s hard to remain focused.<\/p>\n

What is magical about <\/span>Blonde<\/span><\/i> is Ana de Armas\u2019 performance. She is incredible. She is formidable on screen, even up against Bobby Cannavale and Adrien Brody. She has to be up for an Oscar next year or it will be a travesty. She not only embodies everything we hold nostalgic about Marilyn Monroe (the voice, the eternally hopeful expression, the vulnerability), she grabs intense scene after intense scene with both hands and doesn\u2019t let go. She\u2019s completely magnetic, and thank god for that because it felt like her Hollywood trajectory was hinging on this performance. Yes, there are a few falters into her Cuban accent but you won\u2019t leave the film remembering that. You\u2019ll just remember how she did not miss. Not one line, not one expression.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Ana de Armas is perfection as Marilyn Monroe. Image: Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I wish this wasn\u2019t a film about Marilyn Monroe. It really shouldn\u2019t have been about Monroe. Dominik, I believe, would have seen a more well-received film if it were a completely fictional Golden Age actress with some allusions <\/span>to<\/span><\/i> Monroe, because then we would be focusing on the themes and artistry. The weight of Marilyn Monroe\u2019s mythology is a lot to bear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mostly, I feel that Netflix did Dominik dirty with the marketing of this film. Leaning so heavily on de Armas\u2019 likeness to Monroe, the perfectly recreated historical moments, this all had us expecting a slightly fictional biopic that was landing at a time when, thanks to Kim Kardashian\u2019s Met Gala dress moment, Monroe nostalgia is at a peak. <\/span>Blonde<\/span><\/i> never had a chance.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31333,"featured_media":65404,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[23,16],"yoast_head":"\n'Blonde' Review: Ana de Armas Shines, But Netflix Film Falls Flat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Netflix's highly anticipated Marilyn Monroe film Blonde is slow-paced and hard to watch, but Ana de Armas gives a stellar performance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/netflix-blonde-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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