Blonde (2022) – Movie Review

Contrary to Netflix’s earlier documentary The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes, Blonde (2022) envisions to tell the story of Marilyn Monroe from childhood till death based on the chronology of what had happened. Blonde ultimately focuses on the journey of the actor through her family issues, trauma and exploitation. One thing to note is that: although the film is extremely loyal to the contents of the book by Joyce Carol Oates, it is also fictional. There are some truths to what is portrayed in the film, but there are also some elements that were known to be false (such as her throuple with Cass and Eddy) or merely conjectures.

Given the film’s NC-17 rating, it is no doubt that the film is not for the faint-hearted. It wasn’t just the nudity or abuse scenes that may be unsettling. Viewers were also shown a digital view of Monroe’s abortion through the scope of her vagina and a scene where Marilyn was forced to perform a fellatio for the President JFK. The idea was to stay true to the book and present what had or might have happened. Nevertheless some of these scenes were definitely an overkill for the audience. 

The focus on the movie was so centered around Monroe’s trauma and victimization that it missed the opportunity to tell a different side of the story. In spite of all these burdens and exploitative people in her life, Marilyn Monroe was also an ambitious actress who climbed the ladder and went on the earn multiple awards for her work. She was witty, charming, had multi-layered complexities and not just a helpless lamb that Blonde portrayed her to be.