Blonde (2022)
Country: US
Technical: col/bw 167m
Director: Andrew Dominik
Cast: Ana de Armas, Julianne Nicholson, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale
Synopsis:
We witness the trajectory of Norma Jean's soul, from childhood to death, and her frustrated search for a father to protect her.
Review:
Dominik's 'inside-out' biopic, which glances at individual films as they go by, but is far more concerned with Marilyn's perspective, is perforce a problematic narrative journey. About three titles are accorded us by way of life buoys, but for anyone unfamiliar with Monroe's career that may not be enough. (Bizarrely, the shooting of The Misfits, is omitted.) Shifting cinematography via colour, black and white, Academy ratio, widescreen, slow-mo, etc., and other devices such as backlighting, distortion and sound design, all contribute to the miasma through which we experience what it must have been like to travel through life as Marilyn Monroe. The corollary is that Miss de Armas's impressive impersonation remains just that, rather than a performance, so subordinate is she to the overall design. Critical voices bemoaned the fact that she is objectified as much as her inspiration, but it is hard to conceive of a movie about Marilyn that ignored her sexual allure. A deeply moving, and dispiriting, ordeal.
Country: US
Technical: col/bw 167m
Director: Andrew Dominik
Cast: Ana de Armas, Julianne Nicholson, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale
Synopsis:
We witness the trajectory of Norma Jean's soul, from childhood to death, and her frustrated search for a father to protect her.
Review:
Dominik's 'inside-out' biopic, which glances at individual films as they go by, but is far more concerned with Marilyn's perspective, is perforce a problematic narrative journey. About three titles are accorded us by way of life buoys, but for anyone unfamiliar with Monroe's career that may not be enough. (Bizarrely, the shooting of The Misfits, is omitted.) Shifting cinematography via colour, black and white, Academy ratio, widescreen, slow-mo, etc., and other devices such as backlighting, distortion and sound design, all contribute to the miasma through which we experience what it must have been like to travel through life as Marilyn Monroe. The corollary is that Miss de Armas's impressive impersonation remains just that, rather than a performance, so subordinate is she to the overall design. Critical voices bemoaned the fact that she is objectified as much as her inspiration, but it is hard to conceive of a movie about Marilyn that ignored her sexual allure. A deeply moving, and dispiriting, ordeal.
Country: US
Technical: col/bw 167m
Director: Andrew Dominik
Cast: Ana de Armas, Julianne Nicholson, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale
Synopsis:
We witness the trajectory of Norma Jean's soul, from childhood to death, and her frustrated search for a father to protect her.
Review:
Dominik's 'inside-out' biopic, which glances at individual films as they go by, but is far more concerned with Marilyn's perspective, is perforce a problematic narrative journey. About three titles are accorded us by way of life buoys, but for anyone unfamiliar with Monroe's career that may not be enough. (Bizarrely, the shooting of The Misfits, is omitted.) Shifting cinematography via colour, black and white, Academy ratio, widescreen, slow-mo, etc., and other devices such as backlighting, distortion and sound design, all contribute to the miasma through which we experience what it must have been like to travel through life as Marilyn Monroe. The corollary is that Miss de Armas's impressive impersonation remains just that, rather than a performance, so subordinate is she to the overall design. Critical voices bemoaned the fact that she is objectified as much as her inspiration, but it is hard to conceive of a movie about Marilyn that ignored her sexual allure. A deeply moving, and dispiriting, ordeal.