Blonde Review

gamerant.com:

Andrew Dominik, the acclaimed writer-director of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, is back with another bleak deconstruction of a historical icon. After months of controversy, audiences will finally get to see what all the fuss is about as Dominik’s NC-17-rated Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde drops into Netflix’s streaming library today. Like Joyce Carol Oates’ source material, Blonde fictionalizes the events of Monroe’s life and career. But, crucially, it captures the emotional core of the mythical showbiz figure who only ever wanted a family and was constantly let down by the people she trusted.

Ana de Armas’ transformation into Monroe is uncanny, radiating the same star power while also capturing the fragile human being underneath the glamorous facade. Her performance taps into the full range of the emotional spectrum, from euphoric elation to the deepest depths of depression and everything in between. Blonde’s arthouse sensibility and flagrant historical inaccuracy might prevent it from becoming an Oscar contender, but de Armas gives one of the strongest performances of the year.

Ana de Armas Described Blonde As 'Intense' And 'The Most Beautiful Thing' She's Ever Done

While Netflix undoubtedly hoped Dominik would churn out Marilyn’s Bohemian Rhapsody in time for awards season, Blonde is more of a portrait than a straightforward biopic. Monroe’s life is presented as a series of vignettes jumbled out of chronological order by editor Adam Robinson. With its nonlinear structure and surreal David Lynchian imagery, Blonde plays like a dream (or a nightmare). Monroe’s short-lived stardom and untimely passing would easily lend themselves to a clichéd, conventional biopic deifying its subject and