Although Ana de Armas’s performance as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde was superb, the film was poorly received by critics. This biographical drama directed by Andrew Dominik and written by him based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, stars Adrien Brody (Arthur Miller), Bobby Cannavale (Joe DiMaggio), Julianne Nicholson (Glady Pearl Baker, Marilyn’s mother), Caspar Phillipson (John F. Kennedy), Xavier Samuel (Charles Chaplin Jr. – yes, the son of the silent film legend), and Evan Williams (Edward G. Robinson Jr., the son of the esteemed Hollywood actor).
“Marilyn Monroe was one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century. And in Andrew Dominik’s Blonde, we see her life story told in a way that is both captivating and terrifying. Through fragments of her life, we see a woman who was constantly being chopped to bits, both figuratively and literally. It’s a brutal film that uncovers the dark side of Hollywood.”
“It’s also, to be clear, fiction. Blonde is based on Joyce Carol Oates’s 2000 novel, which takes many, many liberties with the lives of Marilyn and others. The film doesn’t purport to be factual, and besides, it’s such a stylized journey through this character’s life that it’d be hard to come up with any biographical timeline from it. (And if one did, it’d likely be incorrect.)”
“Those looking for a biopic about Marilyn Monroe are sure to be disappointed, confused, and/or outraged, which may explain why Netflix has been so cautious about anybody seeing it up until its premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Regardless, the picture will surely fuel endless rounds of soul-pulverizing debates. In fact, it’s kind of designed to, loaded as it is with provocations.”
A disturbing scene between Ana’s Marilyn and Caspar’s JFK, involving a fellatio close-up, earned Blonde its restrictive NC-17 rating. That’s just one of the “many liberties” that the film and Joyce’s novel take.
In the film’s press conference at La Biennale, attended by Andrew, Ana, Adrien, and Julianne, the writer-director was asked why he pursued Blonde as his passion project despite several setbacks for over a decade. Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment ended up producing the project after its long journey.
“Some things just have an emotional, creative energy to them,” replied Andrew, whose credits include The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Chopper. “Some projects you get involved in and they can hold your attention for about a year or two. But Blonde would never let me go.”
“That’s why I hung onto it for years, because I would just keep having ideas for Blonde. Even when Blonde fell apart, I’d still be thinking about Blonde. But it was the book. It was basically the book.”
On how he cast Ana as the icon who died of a barbiturate overdose at 36, the New Zealand-born filmmaker said, “I saw her in a movie called Knock Knock. And I thought, that girl could be Marilyn Monroe. She looked like her. And she was compelling.”
“When she was on screen, she was all you wanted to watch. And I met her, and we had a conversation. Then she came and read for it. And it was like, take three.”
“I knew it was her. I mean, I actually knew it was her as soon as I saw her on TV. It’s a little bit like love at first sight. When the right person walks through the door, you know it.”
“Sometimes it takes a minute to sort through the difficulties that person might bring with them but you always know.”
