Blonde

Hollywood is no longer what it used to be. That´s what you hear when you talk to older people, who grew up watching Hollywood stars such as Bela Lugosi, Errol Flynn, Greta Garbo, Judy Garland, John Wayne, Grace Kelly and many others. Hollywood back in those days had a completely different atmosphere than today, and if you see some of the classics that these actors made in their careers, you will see what i mean. There is no doubt though, that one of the greatest stars of all time in Hollywood, has to be legendary actress Marilyn Monroe. Even if i watched a lot of movies since i grew up in the early 80´s ( born in 1977 ), i never really digged into Marilyn Monroe in my youth, not until i turned 30 years old in 2007. I remember that the Swedish TV channel SVT1 showed one of her classics known as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes from director Howard Hawks ( director of the classic John Wayne western Rio Bravo ). Since this was the first time i actually sat down and watched one of her films, i could tell why she was so loved on the big screen. She had a very unique way to act, and bedazzled the audience with her smile. Of course i have to admit she did look beautiful, and it´s easy to see why many were attracted to her. Since i am not a big fan of musical films in general, i will say this at least. There were parts of the Marilyn Monroe film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes that were charming. I have personally not seen any other Marily Monroe films, other than this specific film. There is no reason why, i just never took the time to discover what films she made. I did however see the great 2011 drama film known as My Week With Marilyn from director Simon Curtis. This film give us a look into the personal life of Marilyn Monroe ( played really well by actress Michelle Williams ), where we see some of the reasons why she struggled so much with fame and his private life. English actor Eddie Redmaybe also gives a strong performance as Colin Clark. This is definetely a very interesting film where you get to see a more private look into the life of Marilyn, and no one could have done this role like actress Michelle Williams does. A must see on streaming, DVD or Blu Ray, no matter where you choose to see it. A couple of months ago i read an article that a film was coming to Netflix called Blonde, that would tell the life of Marily Monroe. Not knowing much about this film ( i did not even see a trailer, how about that? ), i decided to go into this film with an open mind. Is this a very well made portrait of this Hollywood legend, or should you skip Blonde and watch My Weekend With Marilyn instead?

As a young girl, Norma Jeane Mortenson grew up being raised by her mentally ill unstable mother Gladys ( Julianne Nicholson ). One night Gladys tries to drown Norma Jae in their bathtub, but finally stop. Norma Jeane escapes to the house of her neighbor, Miss Flynn ( Sara Paxton ), who promises she will be fine. A few days later Norma Jeane is sent to an orphanage while Gladys is admitted to a mental hospital, having been declared unfit to raise a child. In the 1940´s, Norma Jean ( Ana de Armas ) becomes a pin-up girl under the stage name of "Marilyn Monroe". She finally get a breakthrough into an acting career, but the road to a glamorous lifestyle have a very dark, and painful reality ahead.

I know that this latest Marilyn Monroe portrait have had a lot of different opinions out there, both from film critics and fans of Marily Monroe. And you should be able to express yourself, because we all have the right to feel different about a film. I can understand some of the issues that have been brought up about Blonde, since this is probably the darkest portrait of Marily Monroe we have ever seen. But you know what? I actually appreciate that they tried to give us a much more darker tone about her life, than we have seen in the past. The 2011 film My Weekend With Marilyn showed us certain moments of her rough life, but Blonde take this to a completely different level. If you were hoping to see a film with musical numbers, this is definetely not the film you are looking for. Blonde is really a deep dive into the most rough moments that Marilyn Monroe experienced in her amazing career, and she was a victim of both sexual abuse and mental abuse. I think we need to see a different image sometimes of reality, and not glamourize everything. She clearly suffered a lot, and knowing that she died so young with a lot of pain makes you wonder, was there no one else who could have done more to help her? But there are so many more issues that this film bring up, and especially the danger of living as a celebrity when you have no control of your own life. Actress Ana de Armas ( who is really good in director Denis Villeneuve film Blade Runner 2049 ) gives us a very honest portrait of Marily Monroe, and especially in the scenes where you see her suffering in pain. I also think that Ana manage to show us a different side of the Hollywood actress we have not seen before. The rebellious Marilyn who wanted to enjoy herself, and not only work. You have several good performances in this film from actors such as Adrien Brody, Xavier Samuel, Sara Paxton and others. Director Andrew Dominik ( director of the very well made Western film The Assassination Of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ) bring us a well made film, that have some deep psychological traumatic moments you would not expect to find in a film like this. You could basically say that this is not a biographical film of Marilyn, but more a portrait of her darkerst moments in life. If you don´t want to see this side of her life, you might as well skip this film. If you can accept a different portrait of her life, you definetely should give Blonde a chance on Netflix.

Rating: DDD