Blonde is a 2022 drama movie starring Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody and Bobby Cannavale. It is directed by Andrew Dominik.
Based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, this movie brings an intimate fictional take on the life of Norma Jeane, a.k.a. Marilyn Monroe.
Synopsis
With a glimpse at the childhood of Norma Jeane, the neglected fatherless, little girl who is sent to a foster home after her mother is sent away to a psychiatric hospital. Once old enough, she ventures to Hollywood in the 1950’s, leaving her traumatic upbringing behind. Under the alias Marylin Monroe she pursues an acting career that leads her to the highest echelons in the industry. Proving to be an outstanding actress on screen, while dealing with the power abuse on part of the film industry executives, and in the private sphere grappling with numerous romantic disappointments, and her own dependency on drugs.
Movie Review
Are you ready for a movie that puts Marylin Monroe under the microscope, where you will have to observe the traumas and difficulties Norma Jeane goes through in this fictionalized version of her life, and filmed in very high resolution? Yes, it sounds like grim experience, but rest assured this movie grips one, aesthetically it is near perfection, and it is so calculatedly crafted, it becomes almost hypnotic.
Pristine and beautifully filmed, it follows somewhat faithfully the novel’s sequence of events – not entirely in style, and omitting some details, as well as leaving aside great part of the protagonist’s inner dialogue. ‘Blonde’ is like a long and slow paging through of a photo album of sadness alternating between black and white pictures, and others in muted color. With very clever transitions between scenes, making it visually poetic, it is an epic, each verse filmed in its preferred format.
The movie score is dreamlike, ever so softly evoking the feeling that the whole story is being lived in an altered state, melting in with the captivating visuals. Everything is synchronized to invoke the reverie the character is in.
The star, Ana de Armas has brought a Norma Jeane so delicate and convincing that it will make it impossible for any critic to credibly disqualify her as a talent. Xavier Samuel, what to say about his performance as Cass Chaplin other than it is superb. Bobby Cannavale and Adrien Brody, being the veterans they are, play each their roles brilliantly.
‘Blonde’ will go down in movie history as a unique piece. Not only is it inspired on one of the most iconic figures in Hollywood, it is also so immaculate in its photography and editing, with close to impeccable performances, and a story based on a novel by the one and only Joyce Carol Oates. How could the film go wrong? It couldn’t. It can’t, and it won’t.
Cast
 Ana de Armas / Norma Jeane |  Adrien Brody / The Playwright |  Bobby Cannavale / The Ex-Athlete |  Garret Dillahunt / Marilyn’s Father (voice) |  Sara Paxton / Miss Flynn |
 Lucy DeVito / Ex-Athlete’s Niece |  Julianne Nicholson / Gladys |  Scoot McNairy / Tom Ewell/Richard Sherman |  Xavier Samuel / Cass Chaplin |  Caspar Phillipson / The President |
