Blonde (2022 film)
Blonde is a 2022 American biographical psychological drama film written and directed by Andrew Dominik, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates. The film is a fictionalized take on the life and career of American actress Marilyn Monroe, played by Ana de Armas. The cast also includes Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Xavier Samuel, and Julianne Nicholson. Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tracey Landon, Brad Pitt, and Scott Robertson produced the film. After a lengthy period of development that began in 2010, Blonde entered production in August 2019 in Los Angeles. Production wrapped in July 2021, following the shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The film plays with shifting aspect ratios and alternates between color and black and white. Blonde premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 8, 2022, where it received a 14-minute standing ovation. It began a limited theatrical release in the US on September 16, before its streaming release on September 28 by Netflix. It is the first NC-17-rated film to be released exclusively to a streaming service. The film received polarized reviews from critics and audiences; while de Armas's performance garnered critical acclaim, Dominik's graphic depiction of Monroe's life was criticized as exploitative and unethical. De Armas received nominations for the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, and SAG Award for Best Actress. The film also received eight nominations at the 43rd Golden Raspberry Awards, winning Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay. Plot Norma Jeane Mortenson is raised by her mentally unstable mother, Gladys Pearl Baker. On her seventh birthday in 1933, she is given a framed picture of a man whom Gladys claims was her father. Later that night, a fire breaks out in the Hollywood Hills, and Gladys drives Norma Jeane up there, claiming that her father lived there. However, she is forced to go back home at the orders of the police. Back home, an enraged Gladys tries to drown Norma Jeane in the bathtub when she asks about her father but lets her go. Norma Jeane flees to the house of her neighbor, Miss Flynn, who promises she will be fine. 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 1940s, Norma Jeane has become a pin-up model under the stage name "Marilyn Monroe", featuring on magazine covers and calendars. While trying to break into the acting world, she is raped by film studio president Mr. Z. In 1951, she auditions for the role of Nell in Don't Bother to Knock; the audition goes awry when Norma Jeane breaks down and leaves in tears, but she impresses the casting director enough to give her the part. As her acting career steadily rises, she meets Charles "Cass" Chaplin Jr. and Edward G. "Eddy" Robinson Jr., and becomes a lover to both. Norma Jeane lands her breakout role in 1953 with Niagara, but after she is spotted in public