BLONDE

The first thing to say about Blonde is that it is not a biopic, much like the book it is based on is not a biography. Do not go in expecting to learn about the life of Marilyn Monroe or Norma Jeane Mortensen as vast amounts of Blonde’s overstuffed 166 minute runtime is pure fiction.

And as such there are two ways we must look at it. As a film, and then at its treatment of its star. The artistic and the moral merits of a piece of work which, I think it is fair to say, will likely be the most divisive and controversial film of 2022.

The second thing to say is that it is an incredibly brutal watch. Within the first 20 minutes we see Norma Jeane assaulted - mentally and physically - and tortured by her mum, betrayed by her new guardians, nearly burned to death in a fire, and raped by a studio executive. And it doesn’t get better. 

Norma Jeane is abused and assaulted in every possible way, and in what felt like almost every scene, throughout the near three-hour long run time, and the list of trigger warnings it should come with are as long as my arm.

Playing Norma Jean is Ana de Armas, whose casting was the source of some controversy of its own, but if ever there was a performance to show the merits of colourblind casting, it is this one. de Armas fully embodies both Norma Jeane and Monroe. When playing someone so well known, and so steeped in popular culture, it would be easy to slip into caricature, but de Armas has such a firm grip on the character, playing her with deftness of touch so rarely seen in film, this never threatened to become a problem. 

If Knives Out was her breakout role, this is the one that secures her status.

The supporting cast are equally as strong, Julianne Nicholson, as Norma Jeane’s mother, Gladys, uses her limited screen time to make a huge impression in the audiences memory. It is a monstrous performance, and one that manages to elevate a relatively well worn trope.

Bobby Cannavale and Adrien Brody, as Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller respectively, show the different sides of the father figure that Norma Jeane craves, even if neither of them, in their own ways, are good for her. Both are believable in the role, and have great chemistry with de Armas, and show again that an actor does not need to have an exact physical resemblance to someone in order to inhabit their character.

Then we have the score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. One that is melancholy, bordering on horrific, as we witness Norma Jeane’s descent. Even in the happier moments of the film - which are few and far between - Cave and Ellis’s soundtrack is unsettling. As if even in these moments of respite, she knows herself that there will be no happy ending.

However, despite these excellent performances, and the atmosphere that the score creates, there are some intrinsic flaws in the premise, the characterisation of Norma Jeane, and the script, that were difficult to overcome

The main one being that I never felt that we got to properly know Norma Jeane. The film is mainly seen through the lens of her relationships with men, and through the traumas she suffered. For a film about exploitation, it seems exploitative.

A key plot point throughout is how Norma Jeane struggles with the invention of Marilyn Monroe, but in making this a piece of fiction, playing rumour as fact, or simply making things up, the filmmakers have effectively invented their own version of the woman they are trying to portray.

While I don’t have a problem with biopics bending the truth - i.e. Bohemian Rhapsody playing with the timeline - Blonde feels disrespectful to the memory of someone who should be left in peace by an industry that failed her. 

While Blonde is artistically, and technically, an excellent piece of work, its morals are much harder to pin down. 

While Ana de Armas is fantastic, giving an awards worthy performance, it felt, once more, as if Hollywood executives were looking at Norma Jeane as an object. Using, twisting and moulding her, until nothing of the original person remained. 

I can’t help but feel like Norma Jean Mortenson would have hated Blonde, even if Marilyn Monroe wouldn’t have shown it.