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Deeply divisive Marilyn Monroe biopic 'Blonde' hits Netflix

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Eric Randolph, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Screenshot from Netflix" s="" YouTube="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/09/26/20220926-blonde.jpg"/><figcaption><em>Screenshot from Netflix&#x27;s YouTube channel.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p><br/>Destined to be one of the most divisive films of the year, the Marilyn Monroe biopic &quot;Blonde&quot; finally lands on Netflix on Wednesday after more than a decade of a troubled production.</p><p>While there is almost universal praise for the visceral lead performance by Ana de Armas, critics cannot agree whether the uncompromising, nearly three-hour film is an artistic tour de force or another cruel layer of exploitation perpetrated against the 20th century icon. </p><p>For ID magazine, &quot;Blonde&quot; is &quot;guttural, instinctive, anguished filmmaking that bends space, time, and every cinematic tool at its disposal in service of attaining emotional truth.&quot;</p><p>Or viewers might take the position of the New Yorker&#x27;s Richard Brody, who called it &quot;ridiculously vulgar,&quot; seeing the endless torment that Monroe experiences on-screen as &quot;a special kind of directorial sadism.&quot;</p><p>There are certainly no punches being pulled by Australian director Andrew Dominik in his adaptation of the hit semi-fictional book of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates. </p><p>From the trauma of a mentally unstable and violent mother, through her rape at the hands of a studio boss, to a particularly sordid scene with President John F. Kennedy, Monroe&#x27;s life is depicted as one of relentless abuse and anguish. </p><p>Dominik spent 11 years trying to get the film made, and has credited the #MeToo movement against sexual assault with finally generating interest in the story -- though he reportedly fought long and hard with Netflix over long running time and graphic scenes. </p><p>Armas told reporters at the Venice Film Festival, where the film premiered this month, that she had to go to &quot;uncomfortable, dark and vulnerable&quot; places for the role. </p><p>&quot;She was all I thought about, all I dreamed about, all I could talk about. She was with me, and it was beautiful,&quot; she said. </p><p>The crew filmed in the real locations where Monroe was born and died, with Dominik saying the shoot &quot;took on elements of a seance.&quot;</p><div><strong>&#x27;Sense of awe&#x27;</strong></div><p>It is a star-making turn for Armas, who worked for months with a vocal coach to overcome her Cuban accent and find a voice that could express Monroe&#x27;s character as well as her own unique intonations.</p><p>&quot;On the first day of filming, I went home with this sense of awe that I had the privilege of actually working with Marilyn Monroe,&quot; co-star Adrien Brody, who plays husband Arthur Miller, said in Venice.</p><p>Dominik&#x27;s films have often proved divisive. </p><p>Many saw his previous biopic, &quot;The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford&quot; starring Brad Pitt, who serves as a producer on &quot;Blonde,&quot; as a poetic masterpiece, but just as many found it dull and pretentious, and it flopped at the box office.</p><p>Dominik is unlikely to be bothered, however.</p><p>&quot;Blonde&quot; is &quot;a demanding movie,&quot; he told Screen Daily. &quot;If the audience doesn&#x27;t like it, that&#x27;s the f---ing audience&#x27;s problem. It&#x27;s not running for public office.&quot;</p><p>NPR was among several outlets saying the film is &quot;an exercise in exploitation, not empathy.&quot; </p><p>But Vogue said a lot of the initial shock may fade over time. </p><p>&quot;History will be kind to &#x27;Blonde&#x27;, a Hollywood biopic in real anarchy mode... (which) in time, could be considered a masterpiece.&quot;</p><div><strong>WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aIsFywuZPoQ?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Destined to be one of the most divisive films of the year, the Marilyn Monroe biopic 'Blonde' finally lands on Netflix on Wednesday after more than a decade of a troubled production.

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Deeply divisive Marilyn Monroe biopic 'Blonde' hits Netflix

Eric Randolph,

Agence France-Presse

Published Sep 26, 2022 02:29 PM PHT

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Marilyn Monroe

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