Worst movie i have seen this year, it's not biopic , it's crazy noire slow slow motion movie, that could have ended in 20 minutes..at the end of the movie what have you learned about Norma ? nothing..
Isn't anyone alive from her state to sue them for this crap i just watched.
Did not expect a threesome scene straight out of Interstellar.
No but seriously. Esthetically and cinematography wise this movie is amazing. Looks absolutely stunning and we almost do it a disservice not watching it on the big screen.
Ana de Armas is absolutely incredible in this. Definitely gonna be Oscar nominated.
But script and story wise it was waaay too drawn out. Maybe it's just an artsy style that I don't get but I was pretty bored at times.
this movie is terrible it's completely incoherent jumping back and forth it kind of rambles
The cinematography is great, even mesmerizing at times, Ana de Armas was pretty good (despite the accent), and Adrien Brody seemed like a natural to play Arthur Miller. However, the film is kind of a mess. It jumps around in an incoherent way. Everything sort of gets lost in it.
It pretty much just jumps from tragic event to tragic event. It felt like an endless slog of misery. I feel like they could've written Norma Jeane/Marilyn better. They make her come off as unintelligent, with daddy issues. But they fail to show how intelligent she truly was. They don't really show how she took charge of her career, and eventually started her own production company.
Plays like an indulgent student film with somewhat better acting. The whole thing is an overdrawn montage of moments where the filmmaker is trying to be "creative" or "shocking" instead of actually doing anything that moves an audience forward with story. Not my kinda thing for sure (and a bit of an insult to make it that long on top of it all)
Ana de Armas is stunning in this film but that's about it. The never-ending sequences of tragedy were depressing and that's not even the worst part of it. A movie about a woman who was so terribly treated by the industry, the press and the men around her should've never been done like this, in the most voyeuristic way possible. The scene where she's unwillingly performing oral sex on JFK was absolutely unnecessary. No women directors or producers would ever include such a scene, or, even if they did, it would've never been in such a disrespectful way.
And to top all that, the ridiculous anatomy-class type of videos of fetus and the shots filmed as if from the inside of her vagina. Again, so completely disrespectful, poor taste, gross. This film tries so hard to be hip, artsy, cult and it's just damn awful.
I really couldn’t enjoy this movie—first off, it has too many inaccuracies & second of all, they made the movie unnecessarily long. 3/10.
Just saw Blonde at the Festival de Deauville in presence of Ana de Armas and Andrew Dominik. The film was great and Ana in particular was incredible. Her performance as Marilyn Monroe is breathtaking. ANA DE ARMAS IS COMING FOR THAT OSCAR!!!
Wow! As a lifelong fan, easily the best biopic of Marilyn. Amazing to look at, each outfit (and sometimes every pose) is carefully chosen from one of a thousand images we have all seen, giving a feeling of familiarity to every shot. A dark and sometimes disturbing look at a Monroe we often suspected dwelt behind the stunning façade of (until Diana) the most famous and photographed woman of the century. Ana de Armas is brilliant as the troubled star, so good you can almost believe it's actually her, especially in her eyes that have that sad, haunted look sometimes caught in photos of the real Marilyn. In the end a moving and terribly sad portrait of a tragic, flawed, iconic beauty. A must see!
what's up with review-bombing of this film?
This might not be an entirely accurate depiction of Monroe's life but that doesn't mean its not a decent film. The direction is great, the acting is top form (Ana de Armas is especially good), and the whole film is engaging, despite the misery that is inherent within.
I'll reuse my review for "Spencer".....A visually stunning piece of garbage...Maybe only bright spot in this entirely torturous and long movie is some really fine acting. Ana de Armas gives a nearly perfect performance. Her occasional slips in accent is quite jarring only because because the rest is so good. If you didn't hear it you should rewind to where she says something about being the blonde in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Ugggh so frustrating these weren't corrected. Adrian Brody gives a good performance. But the real shout outs go to Julianne Nicholson and Lily Fisher. Too bad the movie didn't live up to their fabulous performances. 2 hours and 47 minutes of my life I will never get back.
'Blonde' is a strange one.
There is nothing about it that I'd scream from the rooftops about, yet the heavy run time of around 2hrs 47mins went by in an absolute flash - not once was I bored with what I was watching; I tend to check how long is left of a movie when I'm finding it dull, but with this I didn't check at all - as clear a sign as any that I obviously enjoyed it.
I'm not fully convinced why, admittedly. I think it's just really interesting to watch from start-to-finish, the acting is very good and the film is put together well. I wasn't sure about having Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe during the first few scenes, though I quickly lost those thoughts as she gives a great performance.
I get the criticisms (though how many biopics truly stick to reality?) but I predominantly judge films as films, and this is a very watchable one in my books. I'm not saying it's anything special, though for a near 3hr flick to fly by it evidently gave me what I require.
I really loved this movie, Ana is just one of a kind, she really delivered. Cinematography also very good the use of B&W and color was spot on. I truly feel like this is not for everybody to watch or enjoy... I ended watching it much like the movie itself... in a sad note. Some comments say this movie portrayed Norma as unintelligent aka stupid, not at all... every time she tried to show her skills and what she had everyone just saw Marilyn. If you don't like the «jumping around in an incoherent way» like many said.
Well they didn't see what i saw then, you go through the emocional rollercoaster that she went and how could she put a smile after some events is just proof that she was stronger than most men that were around her.
Norma was just a victim of bad circumstances and good looks nonetheless I truly enjoyed this film and it's a shame that not many people are going to see it.
Gave it about 35 minutes and called it a day - completely incoherent and boring.
Its awful, except for Ana`s acting. She deserves, at least, an Oscar nomination. But, for the rest, its terrible and doesnt make any sense.
Gorgeous cinematography and color grading, and creative use of aspect ratio changes; inspired score; and phenomenal acting (especially of note is the child playing young Norma Jean-- both she and the mother were frighteningly convincing.)
This film is much more a mythologized psychological head trip art house drama than biopic, so if you're confused by what I just said, you're probably too simple to appreciate any of the aforementioned, so you can leave your low ratings somewhere else that deserves it... like most of the rest of Netflix's catalogue. I can't imagine the film being any shorter, especially given how it already uses its time skips-- always from Norma's perspective. That was the one consistent thread throughout the film. You experience everything from her disturbed perspective. Whenever Ana turns directly to the camera, it's Norma watching Marilyn act. The dialog can be a little hokey at times, but that's my only real gripe from a cinematic standpoint.
However, if you're an avid fan of Marilyn and know her true story well, then this will probably make you mad. I knew just enough getting into this that everything seemed plausible (I knew the deal with Di Maggio, and with Arthur Miller), but mainly I appreciated it for the experience that it was. But I can certainly understand what people might have against it on those grounds.
And a note about the nudity: I didn't find any of it to be titillating, or exploitive. Yes, Ana de Armas is gorgeous, and normally I'd be lusting after her onscreen form, but Norma Jean's story was too tragic, and I felt too much for the character and what she was going through. A large theme in the film (though not spelled out explicitly, for those who've never thought about or are naïve to the cultural context) is that of the hypocritical puritanical obsession with sex, and how Abrahamics/Christians/Westerners/Americans demonize women for having sexuality, while simultaneously commoditizing, marketing, and lusting after them. The irony is that she's hypersexualized as Marylin, while clothed, but the scenes with nudity are Norma's lived experiences, and are anything but.
Fantastic cinematography, especially the stylish black and white scenes. Besides the visuals, Ana de Armas is also the movie's second-best part, even though I would say 70% of the performance was her either crying or being nude.
However, I'm not sure what to feel about this one. It felt a bit...one note. I mean, before seeing it, I wanted to go in with the benefit of the doubt, but after watching it, there were some questionable and alarming choices the movie made that I can't ignore it.
This is quite an artistic film. The cinematography is great and Ana de Armas is amazing as Marilyn. It‘s mind-boggling how much she does look like Marilyn in some scenes. The story on the other hand is weird, miserable and seems pointless. Why tell this fictional story and use a person that actually lived. There were definitely times during the film when I just wished that the movie would finally end.
People who expect a traditional rise-and-fall biopic will be disappointed and angered. It reminded me of last years' Spencer. But more ambitious.
Would've been a complete waste of my time if it wasn't for Cass Chaplin's delicious performance (and face). Honestly, he's the only thing in this whole mess that's left an impression.
An often difficult watch that is, at best, your cup of tea directorially or not - or at worst, a disgraceful smearing of an icon for the sake of supposed high-brow art.
I lean more to the latter. I'll explain.
Let's put aside the fact it depicts someone who actually lived...
Now let's add in that it is someone who actually lived.
-unconvincing casting. Ana De Armas is a fine actress, one of the absolute best working today. But two issues here - likeness, not great. Accent - lifts you out of her performance.
- why besmirch her memory with an unfounded threesome... Or belittle her with sexual acts. That they occurred there is no doubt but it only makes her out to be cheap to show them whereas the men involved get away with the depiction almost scot-free.
It's almost unwatchable. I wanted to switch off within 20 minutes but persevered due to opinions from other viewers I highly respect. It just didn't come to life for me - but more so, I didn't get much of the tension or societal commentary that other reviews are pointing to so vehemently.
I just found it underwhelming, poorly constructed and a difficult viewing out of being non-plussed. And Norma Jeane deserved a lot more than that.
Whereas Elvis was a mess for totally different reasons, I'd have to say it is slightly superior to this one in relative terms.
The true irony will be that the Oscars are dominated by both films. Films about people from its own industry that were killed by their own successes and then were 'honored by biopics' in extremely poorly taste.
4/10
If Hideo Kojima directed movies...
The movie was a little long, but I thought it wasn't bad. I admired Ana de Armas once again, there were moments when I had difficulty distinguishing it from Marilyn Monroe. Although it is not a biographical film, it reveals the pain Marilyn experienced in her short life. I think he was murdered to cover up something.
Extremely boring. Hard to watch, a piece of garbage.
Very aesthetic and great acting but also very
hard to watch. This Marylin is sooo helpless
here. And I can't hear that word "daddy"
anymore.
"Just how ugly--artistically ugly--can we make Marilyn Monroe's life?" That seems to be the main question poised by the makers of this umpteenth docudrama on the life of bombshell movie actress and performer Marilyn Monroe. While other, less-ambitious bio-pics wondered what Monroe was really like, how difficult she was, etc., "Blonde" simply puts her in a drug-and-alcohol induced haze for the majority of its runtime, filling in the blanks with artistic accoutrements and fantastic delusions. Having said this much, I did admire the lead performance by Ana de Armas--it is a marvel of hairstyling, makeup and camera tricks. When de Armas doesn't look like Marilyn (in profile or in midrange close-up), we're disappointed (her whispery voice wavers as well); however, when she's running happily around on her wedding day to playwright Arthur Miller (Adrien Brody) or reenacting a take on the set of "Some Like It Hot", the actress seems extremely well-cast. Her almost-nonexistent chin (with its subtle, child-like cleft) gives her face the look of a wounded doll--and that's not Marilyn's look (Monroe wasn't this thin, either). Nevertheless, when de Armas gets a good scene--having drinks with Miller after a reading of his play, or frantically searching her house for her wallet to tip the delivery boy--she's more than adequate. Writer-director Andrew Dominik, adapting the book "Blonde" by Joyce Carol Oates, convincingly puts us in Marilyn's twilight world, but we stay there for unconscionably long periods of time. The picture (originally screened at the Venice Film Festival before being picked up by Netflix) is rated NC-17, which seems more a publicity gimmick than a legitimate certification. There is some sex and nudity of the sort associated with NC-17 films, but the unhappy tone of the film is passionless (and these scenes are murky with Dominik's fancy trimmings, anyway). Who was Norma Jeane Mortenson, and how much of a victim of Hollywood was she? Nobody here knows, but they've made her a victim anyway. Where is her drive, her moxie, her guile? Instead of exploring this avenue, Dominik has Marilyn on the abortion table twice, deferring to her men as "Daddy" (substituting for the father she never knew, but who seems to taunt her with a decades' worth of enigmatic letters), and being carried around like a package. Didn't Marilyn at any time in her life firmly stand up for herself? Apparently that's not as interesting to Dominik as putting our heroine on the toilet, showing her vomiting both in bed and into the toilet, talking to her unborn baby (who talks back!), or performing oral sex on the President. The filmmakers wanted to give us something edgy and shocking (followed-up by that rating), but it's all the same smoke-and-mirrors from slightly crazier angles.
Probably the worst movie I've ever seen. Confusing and not connected in any way. If you want to see ALL of Anna De Armas then watch it, otherwise run, save yourself!!
"My films are fairly bereft of women and now I'm imagining what it's like to be one." ~ Andrew Dominik
Precisely. Terrible film.
We were surprised for good, we liked it, Ana de Armas very well, visually very good.
Glad there are better movies with de Armas. Expected a biopic and came to find out it was all fake.
[Netflix] That a film is labeled as exploiting an icon, which is the same criticism that was made of Joyce Carol Oates' book, indicates the fidelity with which its content is reflected. Among the chaotic and fragmented narrative, there is an interesting confrontation proposal: Norma against Marilyn, the mother who wants to have children against the body invaded by endometriosis that causes abortions, the actress against the sex symbol... The greatest weakness of the film is Ana de Armas, who seems to be more successful as Marilyn Monroe than Norma Jean, closer to the icon than to the person. But ultimately it is a film that manages to reflect the perversion of a masculinized world that manufactures exploited female symbols (Billy Wilder's portrait is especially devastating).
Didn't have any expectations, I know that no one really knows the full extent of her story, so my default was that it's a fictionalized version of events, and because there were just glimpses of some periods of her life, It can be interpreted as a partial story with a spot on decisive moments.
The acting was amazingly good, and some of the ideas social/personal were great (really liked the threesome line, it was just so interesting and touching, the fictionalized dad she craved to have, the self-loathing for terminating a pregnancy for a career). I also loved how she felt detached from her persona, and as far as I remember, the real Monroe said something like that as well.
She was shown as smart and under-appreciated, and that's probably how it was.
Indeed, the real Monroe had more sass and humor, but again, I see this movie as glimpses to how it was in the defining moments of her life.
Of course, the men are all bad (except maybe Whity? He at least regarded her as human, a person he worked for), but women failed her too (firstly her mom, then the neighbor).
I don't like biopics, they are never accurate and no movie can really capture a complicated person throughout their life. For that reason I didn't even watch Rocket Man, Bohemian Rapsody or Elvis, but the trailer of "Blonde" looked promising, and from some angles Anna was Merilyn, and the original and diverse cinematography made it worth watching from a creative and artistic point of view, it was engaging enough and not over-the-top artsy for me and totally worth the time (I don't even think it was too long eventually, I just didn't watch it in one sitting).
Might even re-watch it actually.
This film gave me a headache but I just couldn’t stop looking at Ana de Armas.
Its awful, except for Ana`s acting. She deserves, at least, an Oscar nomination. But, for the rest, its terrible and doesnt make any sense.
“Blonde” goes way beyond the concept of “mixed feelings”. It’s such a weird movie for the better and worse. Honestly, I don’t know much about Marilyn Monroe, and basically don’t care if most of the things happening in this movie are made up. The real problem is that the character in the middle is paper-thin and monotone, a mere reiteration of the same old stereotypes on fame and childhood traumas. It’s unclear if they wanted us to think that Norma Jean was the poor victim of a man’s world or just an idiot with daddy issues. They hint at Marilyn being a mask for Norma Jean, but did you notice any difference between the two? The focus on the character’s inner world is only a façade, as it’s obvious that famous names and anecdotes are being exploited for mere shock value. But what are these impactful images for, if there is nothing more than the same trite subtexts supporting the movie?
That said, the only redeeming quality of “Blonde” is its cinematography, particularly in how it goes for a “Lynchian” approach in emphasizing the oneiric nature of the images to transcend reality and hint at the character’s psychological dimension. Even the soundtrack sounds like an Angelo Badalamenti rip-off. Yet, there are many times even the images end up creating involuntarily ridiculous tonal shifts, like when photos and fetuses start talking out of nowhere.
I don’t feel like I’ve totally wasted my time, though. For better or worse, “Blonde” succeeds in reiterating a familiar subject into something completely new through the director's personality. Yet, the problems with the writing and the inconsistencies in tone made the experience extremely painful for the wrong reasons.
When it was announced that Ana de Armas would play Marilyn Monroe, it generated a bit of disbelief in me; Time passed and the first images appeared, and I was surprised at how accurate the characterization was; It was time to see the movie and I couldn't help but accept that my disbelief ended up being erased and replaced by admiration for the work she did in becoming Marilyn, the icon of an era. In addition to the great work that Ana de Armas did, the film stands out for its photography that combines black and white with color in a 4:3 aspect, and I thought it was beautiful; the frames, the recreation of iconic moments and images, the whole part of the camera is extremely enjoyable as a spectator. Adrien Brody was another success in the cast, as he performs quite well as Arthur Miller. But... we come to the but. The script. Wanting to cover as much of Marilyn's life as possible (and it really was as much as they could, making the movie long long), they left out the threads that linked scenes, leaving us as viewers with some bewilderment at not knowing how we got from A to B. and what had happened in between. The lack of a narrative center around which the entire film revolves is evident and we are left with a movie that is lost in the sea of information. And as has happened with other biopics, the successes in the cast (and, in this case, in photography) are diluted due to the lack of a better narrative.
P.S. How depressing is Marilyn's life, but Billy Graham tried. "I don't need him," she said.
The intention behind this movie remains a mystery to me. Director Andrew Dominik apparently wants to show how Monroe was exploited, but actually does it himself. I can appreciate a couple of beautifully shot pictures and a strong performance by Ana de Armas. But the whole tone of the film didn't appeal to me at all. Marilyn Monroe certainly had a troubled life, but I can't imagine that this biopic has much in common with reality. Only the low points of her life are shown, her successes are pushed to the background. In the end, Dominik has nothing more to say than 'Monroe had daddy issues'.
it had quite the creative effects at times, they went all out with the cinematography, and Ana was great!
It's.... Creative.... But I personally didn't enjoy it. Her life was clearly dark in a way we will never understand and it seems the director tried to capture that and her balance of being Marilyn v Norma and dealing with the traumas she continuously endured. Ana is a great actress and she fit the role well. The script and storyline/directing was all over the place though, so it became it's own thing rather than a biopic.
Let's take an American icon and completely make up a story about her personal life and make it more Skinamax than Netflix. While we are at it, throw an NC17 rating on it to entice those who don't know that Internet porn is actually out there and have to rely on movies like this to make them happy.
This movie is just a mess and makes some pretty bold leaps into a life that is more interesting being vague.
Why is Blonde so long? Before I even pressed play I was shocked by the runtime. And after watching it I still feel the same way. It doesn’t help the movie, but it’s not the biggest problem.
Ana de Armas is stunning in this, as to be expected. There are some amazing shots too, but that’s about all the positive I can say about this.
It’s not fun, interesting or true, but just one terrible event after the next in a random order. How are you supposed to follow this? Even worse, why would you want to?
I mean, she says “daddy” so much it can almost pass for a bad p:asterisk_symbol:rn movie and the whole baby thing… My god… What an absolute low point.
What's with the satanic child speaking from her womb? Creepy af. Abort. Abort!
As a sucker for biopics and a sucker for Ana de Armas, I was looking forward to this one more than I would like to admit. Was it good? Sure. Will it win some awards in the right critic circles? Possibly. But it’s not the upper echelon of biopics in my humble opinion. Firstly, it is far too long. They should have just made it a mini series, because despite being too long it felt glazed over in many areas. It is worth watching, but only to those that are already interested in it as it certainly won’t be for everyone.
Rating: 2.5/5 - 7/10 - Worth Watching
I want to highlight the incredible technical production of the film: Cinematography, Sound, Art Direction. And the incredible performances of Ana de Armas and Adrien Brody.
It was a terrible decision to take as a reference a fictional novel which focuses exclusively on highlighting all the tragic aspects of Marilyn's life. Too bad, it could have been a great movie.
Let's be clear. Ana is fucking fantastic.
But this movie was so raw and difficult to watch I had to spread it over 2 evenings. I don't know how much was based in truth but I can believe a lot of it tbh.
Probably longer than it needed to be and very much in the art house movie space. It's a journey for sure... Just maybe not one I enjoyed.
Movie is not good but Ana's acting is fascinating and great.
I had been waiting for this film since the beginning of the year, with high expectations, but it was a great disappointment.
Poorly written, shitty soundtrack, monotonous movie in which there are 30 min of crying and depression and 5 min of happiness, and so on for all 3 hours. Some shots looked like cutscenes from some video game, choice of black and white alternating with color, cool but nonsensical (maybe I am stupid to understand the meaning and if someone wants to explain it to me, please do), meh editing.
The only thing that keeps me from giving a rating below 2.5 stars is Ana de Armas, she blew me away, she was great and also deserves the oscar nomination. Otherwise, the usual movie/documentary about Marylin Monroe about the bad things that happened in her life (and solely about those).
5/10
Painful to watch. Like a car accident, you can’t stop but it is horrific and saddening.
Yes the pacing is off. Yes Ana de Armas’ accent is a bit off. Yes the movie is long. Does this make it terrible? No. Coming from a perspective of not knowing much of anything about Marilyn Monroe, I found this film decent. I’m not sure where the line divides fact and fiction, but I can see why people love it or hate it. It has a very artistic style that can be hard to follow, but give it a try despite the reviews.
I didn’t even make it halfway through this movie. I thought this would be great considering it’s about such an icon. Yes I expected it to be fictionalised and loosely based on the truth much like The Crown. However, this was so slow, so dull, and I felt, so disrespectful.
It’s filmography is very film noir, trying desperately to be arty with a 4:3 aspect ratio but it simply doesn’t work. The film is super slow and about 2 hours longer than it needed to be. A snooze fest!
The movie had such potential to be great if it wasn’t for the bad script. There were so many inaccuracies to Marilyn’s story that irked me so much. & what was up with the million topless scenes? Not to mention the rape scenes that never happened? Ana de Armas did a great job as Marilyn though. The way she looked and how in some scenes you almost believed it was the real Marilyn. Also the way she spoke so softly like Marilyn and then there were other times where Ana’s accent came through a little which took me out immediately again. Ana’s portrayal of Marilyn was great overall but oh man, the script was disastrous. I’m giving the movie a 5 out of 10 just cause of Ana’s performance. Definitely wouldn’t recommend it though just cause of the poor storytelling and constant back and forth between scenes.
I saw this movie together with my family, and we all had very different opinions on it. Overall, I would say that I liked it, while my parents didn't.
Their main criticism is that the movie is "an anguish", and while I do agree that the movie feels really really slow in many parts, I think it's kinda right that it feels that way. It's not supposed to be an easy watch, the movie literally depicts a life full of sadness, abuse, darkness, really makes the heart heavy.
It's not the kind of movie you watch to have a fun night with friends, it's a dive into the troubled existence of one of the most famous human beings in the last century. I found it rather fascinating, in a way.
Ana de armas is just...magnetic. Those times were I was losing interest and maybe thinking about picking up my phone for a couple minutes, she hooked me back up. As gorgeous as the original Marylin, couldn't tell the difference for many scenes.
This is not the kind of movie you recommend to anyone because I feel that it's a personal experience, there's nothing conventional about it. After almost 3 hours of watch time, you will feel really heavy in the heart, so don't watch it if you don't want to.
The greatest and most beautiful possession movie since the Exorcist
The fact that some actually take Andrew Dominik's fever-dream seriously tells you a lot.
Had to switch it off after half an hour.
I knew her latin accent would get in the way of her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe, Ana was the wrong cast for this. Out of all the movies I've seen about Marilyn's life, this is probably the worst. Also, why did this get an NC-17 rating, if it has less sex than Boogie Nights? I guess that was the cash grab to get viewers hooked in. Lastly, this is 3 long and boring hours of an artsy mess.
Shout by KyleBlockedParent2022-09-30T02:19:27Z
I absolutely hate the 4:3 aspect ratio and even more that this movie jumps between different aspects at various times.
I had higher hopes regarding the storytelling. Not worth watching.