Ana de Armas stars as Hollywood bombshell Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s Blonde. This film has made quite the commotion because of its NC-17 rating. But was the rating worth it? Did it provide anything to the story? The answer is no.
I’ll get the good out of the way. Ana de Armas did a fabulous job. She completely embodied Marilyn, and I sometimes forgot it was even her. She did a stellar impersonation, which she mentioned was hard because of her natural accent, but there were only a few times when the impression faltered.
The film was also shot well. There were a lot of stylized choices that made you feel like you were in that time-period living these moments with her. I also appreciated that they had Ana de Armas reenact some of Monroe’s most famous scenes and expertly superimposed them with the original films.
Now to the bad. This movie is unnecessarily long, with a run time of 2 hours and 46 minutes. The pacing was awful. There is no steady beat, and the film as a whole feels like a terrifying fever dream. Most scenes went on a touch too long, especially the graphic ones. It was also just plain hard to watch. The film crosses the line multiple times and has scenes that are just disgusting.
Blonde focuses on the tragic life of Marilyn Monroe, showing a lot of trauma and abuse. It is uncomfortable to watch. And maybe that’s what the director was going for. But for this to be a biography and for people to think this was all her life meant is just sad. The movie never showcases Monroe’s talent or intelligence. Instead, it feeds into horror stories and myths.
Unfortunately for Blonde, the bad outweighs the good. Ana de Armas gave a spectacular performance, but it was dulled because of the shock and awe of the direction. Instead of focusing on a better story, the creators decided to cash in on the NC-17 rating. The reasons for the film having that particular rating, like Armas being topless for at least half of the film, and the long, drawn-out graphic scenes, are unnecessary. The pacing is so horrible that the film sometimes becomes boring. This could have been an impactful movie. Instead, Blonde is, in my opinion, disrespectful to Marilyn Monroe. She and Ana de Armas deserved better.
Collette's Review: Blonde
Score
Review Nation Score
Unfortunately for Blonde, the bad outweighs the good. Ana de Armas gave a spectacular performance, but it was dulled because of the shock and awe of the direction. Instead of focusing on a better story, the creators decided to cash in on the NC-17 rating. The reasons for the film having that particular rating, like Armas being topless for at least half of the film, and the long, drawn-out graphic scenes, are unnecessary. The pacing is so horrible that the film sometimes becomes boring.