Film Review: BLONDE (2022): Andrew Dominik’s Harrowing Film Showcases Ana de Armas at Her Finest

Blonde Review

Blonde (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Andrew Dominik, written by Andrew Dominik and Joyce Carol Oates and starring Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Julianne Nicholson, Caspar Phillipson, Xavier Samuel, Toby Huss, Catherine Dent, Evan Williams, Sara Paxton, Lucy DeVito, Garret Dillahunt, Scoot McNairy, Rebecca Wisocky, Haley Webb, Eden Riegel, Spencer Garrett, Dan Butler and Lily Fisher.

Andrew Domink’s haunting and very disturbing film, Blonde, is anchored by one of the most daring screen performances of all-time. Ana de Armas is Norma Jeane (aka Marilyn Monroe) in this movie and if not for the dark nature of the material being presented, she’d be assured an Oscar win. Speaking of Academy Awards, this movie is likely to be a bit too challenging to win in major categories but there’s the off chance that this film could get the support it needs to win de Armas the major Best Actress prizes she deserves.

Dominik’s movie opens in such a way that one could initially think they are watching the wrong movie. This doesn’t seem to be a movie about Marilyn Monroe but, indeed, it turns out to be one. Just not the one some people may be expecting. Gladys (an amazingly crazed and effective Julianne Nicholson) is a mentally unstable woman in the 1930’s who is the mother of a young blonde daughter called Norma Jeane (the terrific Lily Fisher). Gladys points out a picture of Norma Jeane’s father to her child so she is aware of what her dad looks like. Soon, there is a fire in the neighborhood and Gladys tries to take Norma Jeane away but a police officer directs Gladys to turn her car around and head back home. All the opening scenes are masterfully portrayed with the help of an Oscar-worthy music score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis which drives the film and carries it through the picture’s almost three-hour long running time.

Gladys almost drowns Norma Jeane in the bathtub until Norma Jeane escapes and seeks help from a neighbor named Miss Flynn (Sara Paxton). Norma Jeane is driven to an orphanage by Miss Flynn. This trauma which Norma Jean has endured sets the stage for the life which Norma Jeane (played as an adult by de Armas) is destined to live. Though Norma finds success as a model, she finds herself in the office of a studio executive who rapes her which helps her “break into” the movies.

Blonde switches from color to black and white and back again many times throughout the duration of the picture’s running time. The color aspects of the movie help give detail to the beauty of Norma/Marilyn and most noteworthy are the shots which highlight Marilyn’s blue eyes which, when in color, help give her character more humanity than in the black and white scenes. The black and white scenes help to downplay some of the bloodiness and disturbing aspects of the picture which would be a lot more shocking in color. They are still shocking in black and white but a bit less graphic in nature than they would have been otherwise.

One of the most heart-wrenching scenes in the picture is when Norma Jeane goes to visit her mother in the mental hospital after several years have passed. Gladys is wondering where her “real daughter” is and Gladys doesn’t respond well to Norma’s visit making the results very tragic to behold. Nicholson and de Armas are magnificent in this disturbing scene. These are two fine actresses expressing completely different emotions from one another to absolute perfection.

On the more risque side of the movie are the scenes between Norma/Marilyn and Cass (Xavier Samuels) and Eddie (Evan Williams). Cass and Eddie are the sons of Charlie Chaplin and Edward G. Robinson and the threesome sex that ensues makes for some intriguing and provocative moments in the movie.

The heart of the movie, though, is in the more conventional relationships Norma/Marilyn had with the men in her life. Bobby Cannavale’s Joe DiMaggio, in particular, stands out as his conversations with the blonde bombshell lead her to make generalities about the way she got into show business which are heartbreaking to experience. Cannavale has never been better on screen as his character goes through changes during the course of the movie and transforms right before our eyes. Next, Adrien Brody’s character of playwright Arthur Miller seems to be a good fit for Norma/Marilyn as the two engage in a heartfelt relationship but, alas, their relationship has just as many problems as it does assets for the couple. Brody shines on screen giving his character the perfect amount of subtext to understand what Miller is going through during the course of Brody’s multi-layered performance.

This film falters a bit in the relationship between Norma/Marilyn and JFK (Caspar Phillipson). These scenes push the boundaries of what is expected in a traditional film and the sexuality that finds itself in one scene in particular makes it easy to understand why the movie is rated NC-17. Phillipson is adequate in his role but it is not as strong or substantial a performance as either Cannavale’s or Brody’s.

Ana de Armas’s creation in the title role is nothing short of fascinating. She is not a conventional character in any way. Yet, Norma Jeane/Marilyn is never really fully relatable. And she shouldn’t be. She can be sympathetic even if we don’t understand all the choices she makes. We do feel sorry for her, especially in her audition scene early in the movie, and even more so when she has a hysterical nervous breakdown in a group setting scene. The layers de Armas gives her creation are very impressive. There are never any false notes in the performance. We get to understand her insecurities, her unfulfilled passions and her disappointing rejection by her family. All the heavy themes being presented here would not be possible to sympathize with if de Armas didn’t hit the ball out of the park. She does just that here, however.

In the latter scenes of the movie, the scenarios the film presents are harrowing to watch. From the bloodiness and disturbing nature of the loss of a pregnancy, Dominik always maintains the viewer’s full attention throughout the closing sequences of the movie. Most impressive is a shot in the film of Norma Jeane/Marilyn holding a pillow in comfort at the same time as the movie displays her reality in the same shot. It’s haunting and makes the character so intensely tragic to endure.

This is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ book. Even as the film presents the premiere of Some Like it Hot, a light as air movie, Blonde is disturbing to watch almost in every scene it presents. There is plenty of graphic nudity throughout the film and this is extremely heavy viewing for almost any audience member. But, still, Ana de Armas is masterfully skillful in capturing the nuances of Marilyn Monroe. From what’s being said, her biggest competition at the Oscars could be Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans) who played Monroe herself about a decade or so ago (My Week with Marilyn). Both takes on Monroe by these actresses are enormously successful but de Armas is forced to confront some character traits of the blonde icon quite differently than Williams did.

Ana de Armas is an amazing force to contend with in Blonde. While I haven’t seen all the Best Actress candidates of 2022 so far, it’s likely she could join Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) on the list of sure-fire candidates who are deserving of nominations. The big question mark is whether Oscar voters can reward a challenging and provocative film like Blonde. Whether they can or not, this new movie is impossible to ignore. Nicholson and the towering film score are also deserving of Academy Award nods as well.

Rating: 8/10

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