It is beyond the shadow of a doubt the most controversial movie of the year, having received both a 14 minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival and numerous scathing accusations of misogyny and exploitation. That kind of split opinion means that it’s a must see, and so we’re thrilled to say that the Marilyn Monroe film Blonde is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
Adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’ novel by Chopper and Killing Them Softly director Andrew Dominik, Blonde isn’t a biopic, strictly speaking, but a kind of fictional biography of Monroe, using the broad strokes of her life to dig into the perils of fame, childhood trauma, addiction, and abuse.
Ana de Armas (Knives Out) gives a career0best performance as the ingenue Norma Jean, who becomes the icon Monroe but is haunted by her rough childhood and subjected to horrific treatment by the men in her life, including sexual assault and forced abortion.
Dominik pulls few punches when depicting this, so be warned: Blonde is not for the faint of heart. It’s the first streaming film to receive an NC-17 from the MPAA and only the 90th film ever to get one, which may be why, unlike other prestigious Netflix productions, it only got a very limited theatrical release, mainly to qualify for Academy Award consideration.
De Armas is a strong contender for a Best Actress nod, but the rest of the cast is impressive as well, with Bobby Cannavale and Adrien Brody as Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, respectively, Julianne Nicholson as Marilyn’s mother, Gladys, and Xavier Samuel as her lover, Charles Chaplin Jr. Still, does all that talent make up for the shocking and frequently brutal content? There’s really only one way to find out, and it’s waiting to be added to your Netflix queue.
