Blonde review: Ana de Armas shines in the tragic fictional tale of Marilyn Monroe

3/5

Story: A young Norma Jean (Ana de Armas) is forced to endure hardships and cruelty at the hands of her own mother from a very young age. After her mother is clinically diagnosed with schizophrenia, Norma is sent to an orphanage to fend for herself. The plot then shifts to her life and career as Marilyn Monore, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood — from her struggles as an aspiring actress to the height of her fame in the 50s and 60s.

Review: The story of Marilyn Monroe has been told countless times over the decades with varying degrees of success. The ambiguity surrounding her life and her death is one of the primary reasons why Hollywood is still obsessed with the life and legacy of Monroe. There is the possibility that the general audience might mistake the film to be a fairly accurate biopic about the ‘blonde bombshell’. But it is in fact Joyce Carol Oates’ reimagining of Monroe laced with a few elements of historical facts. The tragedy of Marilyn Monroe, however, is very real regardless of how it is interpreted.

The novel by Oates and the film adaptation by Andrew Dominik attempt to capture a sombre reflection of the real Marilyn Monroe, and her life under the constant scrutiny of the media and the public. Each facet of her life is told through a unique mix of different filmmaking styles. The aspect ratio, the colour template, and the framing of shots constantly change and it is almost disorienting at times. It is symbolic of Monroe's chaotic life. Most of the film is in the 4:3 aspect ratio and would have served better on a theatrical screen rather than on Netflix. It also shifts to 16:9 and 21:9 depending on the context of the scene. In fact, Dominik has made use of multiple filmmaking styles to bring his vision for the movie to life. Dominik’s methods are certainly divisive and are intended to be provocative just like the visceral scenes and the dark subject matter.

The overall story of the film, unfortunately, lacks heft, but instead, it is a character-driven ode to one of the most recognisable names in modern history. The film’s biggest strength is surprisingly not its technical prowess but it’s the captivating performance by its lead Ana de Armas. There was a backlash when de Armas was cast as Monroe because the fact that a Cuban actress could play a white American did not make a lot of people very comfortable. This is despite de Armas being of European ancestry. The choice of casting her has been vindicated, as she has delivered her career-best performance as Marilyn Monroe. She is able to bring out the trauma, grief, and quest for inner peace with consummate ease. However, she invariably slips into her Cuban accent at times and her American accent in general leaves a lot to be desired.

Through de Armas and her character, the film explores several themes, but the most significant is Monroe’s unresolved ‘daddy issues’ and her attempts to find the identity of her real father. It is also Freudian in how she calls her two husbands ‘daddy’. The film quite obviously never reveals the true identity of her true father as it has never been actually confirmed in real life. Some of the other themes of the film include addiction, sexuality, and abuse. The film could upset a few Americans as it portrays former President John F Kennedy as a sexual predator. And there are hints in the film that it could be weighing in on the pro-life versus abortion debates.

Some of the other cast members also deserve praise for their performances, but Adrien Brody unsurprisingly stands out despite having a relatively short screen time.

Verdict: Andrew Dominik’s Blonde is a provocative film carried by the brilliance of Ana de Armas. The film’s unique combination of styles does set it apart, but it ultimately lacks all the right ingredients to elevate it to a higher pedestal.