337. Blonde; movie review

 

BLONDE

Cert 18

166 mins

BBFC advice: Contains sexual violence, strong sex, domestic abuse

First things first - Ana de Armas is spellbinding as Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik's Blonde.

Indeed, the way he has constructed the movie makes it seems as if she IS Marilyn.

But this film is a damned hard watch - with the 1950s superstar portrayed as nothing but a plaything for powerful men.

And the worst aspect is that she has nobody to turn to, as she spirals towards her inevitable demise.

Much of the Monroe story has been documented repeatedly but any gaps are simply filled through Dominik's imagination.

Frankly, I was left wishing he had kept his meanderings to himself.

Blonde is a joyless film, chronicling the star's life from the moment her mother (Julianne Nicholson) is institutionalised because of mental health issues.

She didn't know her father and the hole left by him and her desperation to meet him is a running theme.

Who knows how things would have transpired if she had received parental guidance but the movie certainly suggests that her background played a significant part in her vulnerability.

She even calls her two husbands, Joe Dimaggio (Bobby Cannavale) and Arthur Miller (Adrien Brody) 'daddy',

And then we see what Dominik imagines happened between Monroe and President Kennedy (Caspar Phillipson).

This makes particularly disturbing viewing as does his take on the lead-up to her death in 1962.

Blonde is a violent movie intended to make hearts bleed for Monroe even though few of us were around to remember the magic she weaved in the 1950s.

But I was left wondering why bring her sad story up now and thinking, that if is is merely fiction, that it is  in pretty bad taste.

Reasons to watch: Tour de force by Ana de Armas

Reasons to avoid: Fiction overwhelms fact

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 6/10 (because de Armas is so good)

Did you know? Joe DiMaggio had roses delivered to Marilyn's grave twice a week for 20 years following her death.

The final word. Andrew Dominik: "Blonde is supposed to leave you shaking. Like an orphaned rhesus monkey in the snow. It’s a howl of pain or rage. Of all the films I’ve made, it’s the one that strikes me the most differently each time I watch it." BFI

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