Review of Blonde

Look at her eyes. Look at the spot-on reenactments of her classic movie moments (especially "Some Like It Hot"). Ana de Armas' transformation into Marilyn Monroe is devastating, heartbreaking, and so completely accurate that it comes across less as an imitation and more like an inhabitation of the legendary actress' soul. Lugubriously directed by Andrew Dominik, this overlong 2022 film is not a straight-up biopic but an episodic cautionary tale of pre-Harvey Weinstein abuse and power politics taken from a startling first-person perspective. Based on Joyce Carol Oates' 2001 novel, the story is not only tragic but painful to watch with trauma erupting in almost every scene. Look past de Armas' Oscar-worthy work if you can, and you'll see strong work from Julianne Nicholson as her disturbed mother and Adrien Brody as the Arthur Miller character. Why it received an NC-17 rating became clear toward the end.