This coming Wednesday, Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde” will be available to stream in Netflix. I’ve already predicted that plenty of token Netflix watchers will not be able to even finish Dominik’s punishing 165 minute film.
“Blonde” has been in theaters now, in select cities, for two weeks. Audience reaction so far are exactly as expected. A 42% audience score on RT, 6.2 rating on IMDB, and 3.7 on Metacritic.
I find all of this very amusing. That Netflix would invest in such an obtuse, detached and graphic art film. It’s great for us cinephiles. Dominik’s film was never going to be well-liked by mainstream audiences, then again the majority of the critics seem to also be against the film.
When I watched “Blonde,” a few weeks ago, I was enthralled by the first two hours and change, but felt like Dominik hit a total wall in the film’s final half hour. De Armas is great and I love how the film is fearless in showcasing the abusive horndogs Monroe had to deal with (especially DiMaggio and JFK).
Monroe is depicted as a supreme martyr of the 20th-century. It’s basically “The Passion of the Christ,” but with Monroe replacing Jesus. She just gets physically and mentally tortured throughout. Dominik greases his Gibson fumes here.
It’s a movie that tries to capture who Monroe actually was. That’s what I liked about “Blonde.” It’s probably the best account of what was truly occurring inside Monroe’s head. Other depictions have failed in their attempts to convey the inner torture, the demons inside her psyche. It’s torturous psychodrama.