“Blonde” (2022)
Brutal tale of American heartbreak.
Following the re-release of my original thoughts on New Zealand born filmmaker Andrew Dominik’s second and third films (The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford and Killing Them Softly — both linked at the bottom of this article), I had the perverse pleasure last evening of finally seeing his latest offering, a bleak, dark and disturbing dramatisation of the cruelly short life of Marilyn Monroe. Being as I am three months late to the release party, I guess I’ve missed the furore and the huge split this film would have no doubt generated in its audience! Based on the 2000 novel of the same name written by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde may very well indeed see Marilyn Monroe constantly in virginal white but this film is darker than black and as bleak and disturbing as Killing Them Softly a decade ago, and as beautifully surreal and visually arresting as his Jesse James tale from 2007.
Blonde is a magnificent film but it’s not perhaps the film everyone wants to see. I drew immediate parallels with last year’s Elvis (directed by Baz Lurhmann) as well as, heavily ironically, the Pablo Larrain directed Jackie in 2016. All are arguably seen as “brands” and icons rather than the flesh and blood human beings behind the façade of the celebrity image. Here, a spectacular Ana de Armas (No Time To Die, Deep Water, The Gray Man) laments “They know me as Norma Jean. Not as Marilyn” and “That thing up on the screen isn’t me”. More than this, much, much more than this, is the depiction of the creation of the character of Marilyn Monroe, the industry behind it, and the broken, abused, raped and destroyed human being who just wanted to be Norma Jean Baker. Ana de Armas’ portrayal of the horribly exploited little girl lost is remarkable and time and time again she paints a vivid picture of a misunderstood young lady referring to her creation in the third person. Marilyn Monroe is someone else, her construct, her character, a creation she almost wills into existence with her trusty make up artist “Whitey” until her will is broken through reprehensible violence and dehumanising sexual abuse.
For Blonde isn’t an easy watch. At all. You will be nearly an hour into this near three hour film before the “Blonde Bombshell” is recognisably Marilyn Monroe and more importantly, genuinely and recognisably happy. Another hour will pass before you see a remarkable collection of truly joyous scenes as Marilyn celebrates life, love and a honeymoon with her third husband, author and playwright Arthur Miller. Marilyn calls him “Daddy”, as she does with every previous lover or husband and it’s an easy yet disturbing link to the through line of the film and of Marilyn seeking a re-connection with an abusive and psychotic mother and an absent father she’s never met and whom only communicates with her via narrated letters. Marilyn is so alone within her own life which quixotically isn’t even that. It’s the life of a movie star named Marilyn Monroe and a character Norma Jean Baker inhabits in arguably the first real distinctive world of celebrity fame and celebrity culture, and whether it’s a famous playwright or an ex centre fielder for the New York Yankees, she just wants to be known as Norma Jean and live peacefully and quietly within the American dream.
Ably supported by an ensemble cast headed by Adrien Brody as “The Playwright” Arthur Miller and Bobby Cannavale named ridiculously as “Ex-Athlete” rather than Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio, Ana de Armas truly steals the headline show as she must. One scene stands out from a mighty performance: a screen test for the 1951 film “Don’t Bother to Knock”. Ana de Armas takes us from a shy and supremely well read Norma Jean through the real talented actress that was Marilyn Monroe and back again, twisting through a spellbinding and thunderous screen test. Sobbing throughout, de Armas cries her way through the entire film and never more so than here as yet again, and so early in the career of Marilyn Monroe, no-one saw or appreciated Norma Jean Baker.
They only sought to exploit her creation.
Talking of creation: this is an Andrew Dominik creation! Blonde truly is as brutally stark as Killing Them Softly and as bewitching and beautiful as The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford. The “American Dream” is once again replaced by an often surreal dream world or dream state, scenes merging and blurring the boundaries of the story and the cinematic historical story, that of life and real life, Norma Jean and Marilyn, beautiful innocence and brutal exploitation. Although the film is very visual as it relies upon a scrapbook of memorabilia on screen and many recreations and homages to Marilyn’s most iconic poses and situations, director Dominik has once again re-teamed with Nick Cave and Warren Ellis who contribute a quite wonderful musical score that often reminded me (and no doubt me alone!) of an entirely different era altogether, and the 1980’s synthesiser sounds of Vangelis.
Filmed and presented in black and white, there are numerous changes to a more colourful late 1950’s and early 1960’s and all whilst the director enjoys changing the aspect ratio of the film to fit the time period, be it 4:3 full screen or the more wider, colourful and vibrant widescreen shots later in the film. Many scenes stand out, nearly all of which blend the surreal with the monstrous, the human beauty and the inhumane exploitation. As noted above, the screen test scene from 1951 is astounding, as are the surreal scene segues into a burning house, the overhead shots of another record breaking film premiere and Marilyn, alone and lost on the red carpet as well as within her own world once more. The juxtapositions become the incredible highs and the heart breaking lows of a life lived in the spotlight of unbelievable fame. From Norma Jean transforming into Marilyn Monroe, her famous (virginal white again) billowing skirt, through to the abhorrent abuse from her husband, the honeymoon with another and the illicit rendezvous with a sitting President of the USA. Here a human being is ferried to her American Dream nothing but a piece of meat for sexual gratification, and she may well appear to be the famous Marilyn Monroe but she isn’t.
Not now.
Nor is she simply Norma Jean.
Not anymore.
Blonde is a difficult, heart wrenching watch, beautifully directed through the brutal and often surreal lens of Andrew Dominik, and I recommend it to you.
Afterword (and selected quotes)
Director Andrew Dominik
“A film that definitely has a morality about it. But it swims in very ambiguous waters because I don’t think it will be as cut-and-dried as people want to see it. There’s something in it to offend everyone.”
(Source: Vulture and New York Magazine)
“Why is Marilyn Monroe the great female icon of the 20th Century? For men she is an object of sexual desire that is desperately in need of rescue. For women, she embodies all the injustices visited upon the feminine, a sister, a Cinderella, consigned to live among the ashes. I want to tell the story of Norma Jean as a central figure in a fairy tale; an orphan child lost in the woods of Hollywood, being consumed by that great icon of the twentieth century”.
(Source: Screen Daily)
“I think “Blonde” is a work of fiction and it’s got just as much Joyce in it as it does Marilyn. But having said that, I think it’s probably closer to the truth than what Fox is pushing to sell Marilyn stuff.”
(Source: Rolling Stone)
“It’s a demanding movie — it is what it is, it says what it says. And if the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the fucking audience’s problem. It’s not running for public office.”
(Source: Screen Daily)
Actress Ana de Armas
“Andrew’s ambitions were very clear from the start — to present a version of Marilyn Monroe’s life through her lens. He wanted the world to experience what it actually felt like to not only be Marilyn, but also Norma Jean. I found that to be the most daring, unapologetic, and feminist take on her story that I had ever seen. Our movie is not linear or conventional; it is meant to be a sensorial and emotional experience. The film moves along with her feelings and her experiences. There are moments when we are inside of her body and mind, and this will give the audience an opportunity to experience what it was like to be Norma and Marilyn at the same time.”
(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My four most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 200 blog articles (with 400+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
