Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde” is finally available to stream on Netflix today. It is the #1 most-watched movie on Netflix. I’d like to know the percentage of people who actually finished it. All 165 minutes.
It was inevitable, but the amount of hate I’ve read today concerning “Blonde” is quite unique. It’s as if critics, journalists and audiences have finally united, for once, to beat up on a movie they commonly despise.
It’s pretty low how The Independent has decided to write in their headline that Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde” has “viewers turning off ‘unwatchable’ Marilyn Monroe drama after just 20 minutes.” This stems from two tweets they found on social media stating that they turned off the film “after 20 minutes.”
Variety has, more or less, used the same tactic with a headline that reads “As ‘Blonde’ Goes No. 1 on Netflix, Viewers Lash Out: ‘So Sexist,’ ‘Cruel’ and ‘One of the Most Detestable Movies’ Ever Made.”
The New York Times’ Manhola Dargis was absolutely nasty in her review of “Blonde,” stating “Given the horrors Marilyn Monroe endured during her life, she didn’t have to suffer through the vulgarities of 'Blonde,' the latest necrophiliac entertainment to exploit her."
Dominik’s film is not even the definition of a polarizer anymore, it’s just a hated movie. A 38% audience score on RT, 5.9 rating on IMDB, and 4.0 on Metacritic.
Critics were inevitably going to be split on “Blonde.” However, some of them also had their knives out against Dominik for various reasons, one of which is based on the controversial interviews he’s been giving to promote the film, and the other is his utter refusal to portray Marilyn Monroe as a symbol of female empowerment in “Blonde.”
I quite liked “Blonde” when I screened it at home a few weeks ago. It’s bold, messy, passionate and utterly fascinating. Too bad it loses itself in heavy-handedness and repetition during its last half hour.
As mentioned, the film is available to stream now on Netflix. What did readers think of “Blonde” on first viewing? I imagine plenty who frequent this site decided to stream the film today.