Based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde blends together the fake and the real to concoct a gruelling, cruel portrayal of one of cinema's most fascinating actresses. The controversial drama manages to discuss presidential sex, the effects of fame and talking foetuses but completely denies its main subject the agency that she deserves. From the outset of the film, it becomes apparent that Dominik hasn’t actually read much about Monroe and her story. Instead of portraying a talented and strong woman, Dominik makes his Norma Jeane (Monroe’s real name) nothing more than a victim, denying her well-earned autonomy. She is sexually exploited all the way through the film, alienated from others and forced to stumble her way through fame and a life that she doesn’t have any control over.
Dominik doesn’t understand Marilyn Monroe and his artistic approach to her life is misguided
Everything that is in this portrait of Monroe feels off - because it is. This is not Marilyn Monroe’s story, merely a warped echo of the woman she actually was. To those who met her she was known for her intelligence, knowledge of politics and the work she put in to drive her professional ambitions forwards. Yet, this film is defined by predatory men and how Monroe is constantly leered upon, with one scene depicting a sexual assault that never happened. The film tries to make a point about exploitation and the construction of a real-life nightmare, but it appears as if Dominik wasn’t actually interested in Monroe herself. Rather, that the narrative of exploitation must be shown at the expense of respecting the very real woman.
The film moves from traumatic event to traumatic event, focusing on the ‘real’ Norma Jeane and the made-up Marilyn in an obnoxiously simple psychological approach. Her character constantly comes across like a child who is lost without the influence of a father figure in her life. This aspect perhaps becomes most uncomfortable when she repeatedly refers to her partners as ‘daddy’, creating an uneasy Hollywood Freudian remark that contributes to the torture porn of the entire narrative. There is, however, some twisted relief from this torture in the fact that it becomes political porn after it features two abortion scenes and a miscarriage. These multiple abortion scenes against her will when Monroe’s real-life struggle was with endometriosis are nothing but insulting. Twice Dominik gives us a shot from the inside of her vagina (yes, you read that right) in shots that go past dehumanising Monroe. She tells herself “this is what you killed your baby for” as she is applauded at a film premiere, later her unborn foetus asks “why did you kill me, mommy?” and to top it all off she suffers a miscarriage that clearly acts as a punishment for her ‘sin’. The similarity to pro-life media in this film creates a taste so sour that it borderline feels like propaganda.
Dominik doesn’t understand Marilyn Monroe and his artistic approach to her life is misguided. By the end of the film, it's clear that the only way he can understand a woman like Monroe is to depict her through pain, never moving past the stereotype that she was just some dumb blonde. The film cannot grasp how clever she truly was, despite the tragedy that did occur within her lifetime, as the spectacle of the narrative inevitably becomes weary.