Since the new movie blond debuted on Netflix, there were many critics and viewers crying. Part of the criticism of the film was taking creative liberties to re-imagine certain events in Marilyn Monroe’s life that are not as they actually happened. Others have said the film exploits Monroe and her legacy, ultimately disrespecting the late Hollywood legend by having her portrayed in the film this way.
blond was written and directed by Andrew Dominik, but is directly based on the original novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates. The novel has been described as a fictional retelling of the life and death of Monroe, and Dominik carries over the same mindset for the feature film adaptation. For her part, Oates was not personally involved in the production of the film adaptation, but stated on Twitter that she disagrees with the idea that the film is exploitative, stressing that it is a work of art.
“I think it was/is a brilliant work of cinematic art, clearly not for everyone,” Oates said. “Surprisingly, in a post #MeToo era, the stark exposure of sexual predation in Hollywood has been interpreted as ‘exploitation.’ Andrew Dominik certainly wanted to tell Norma Jeane’s story sincerely.”
In a follow-up tweet, she added: “No movie (blond) for the faint of heart. The director is fearless, unyielding. The last 20 minutes or so are almost too powerful to watch. all in all brilliant cinematography and execution by Ana de Armas.”
Blonde isn’t for everyone, the original author agrees
Oates went on to compare the blond throwback to how other movies have made viewers uncomfortable, like Darren Aronofksy’s Requiem for a dream and certain David Lynch movies. Noticing how she understands that blond is “obviously not a movie for everyone,” Oates argues that the film doesn’t exploit Monroe, but instead shows much of the abuse she, and so many other young women in Hollywood, had to endure.
“blond turns out to be a kind of Rorschach test: some see Marilyn Monroe’s sexual assault disclosure as ‘exploitative’ and others see it as a revelation of how a gifted young woman was treated in Hollywood and elsewhere, before #MeToo,” Oates explains. It’s not my place to judge people who are shocked by scenes in movies that, while ‘true’ enough, are just too disturbing to watch; I must confess, I could barely watch Son of Saul & The white ribbon; & don’t feel like seeing any more Holocaust movies…”
Maybe there was a good reason that blond was rated NC-17. You can find the movie streaming on Netflix.