Blonde

Wow! As a lifelong fan, easily the best biopic of Marilyn. Amazing to look at, each outfit (and sometimes every pose) is carefully chosen from one of a thousand images we have all seen, giving a feeling of familiarity to every shot. A dark and sometimes disturbing look at a Monroe we often suspected dwelt behind the stunning façade of (until Diana) the most famous and photographed woman of the century. Ana de Armas is brilliant as the troubled star, so good you can almost believe it's actually her, especially in her eyes that have that sad, haunted look sometimes caught in photos of the real Marilyn. In the end a moving and terribly sad portrait of a tragic, flawed, iconic beauty. A must see!

Didn't have any expectations, I know that no one really knows the full extent of her story, so my default was that it's a fictionalized version of events, and because there were just glimpses of some periods of her life, It can be interpreted as a partial story with a spot on decisive moments.
The acting was amazingly good, and some of the ideas social/personal were great (really liked the threesome line, it was just so interesting and touching, the fictionalized dad she craved to have, the self-loathing for terminating a pregnancy for a career). I also loved how she felt detached from her persona, and as far as I remember, the real Monroe said something like that as well.
She was shown as smart and under-appreciated, and that's probably how it was.
Indeed, the real Monroe had more sass and humor, but again, I see this movie as glimpses to how it was in the defining moments of her life.
Of course, the men are all bad (except maybe Whity? He at least regarded her as human, a person he worked for), but women failed her too (firstly her mom, then the neighbor).
I don't like biopics, they are never accurate and no movie can really capture a complicated person throughout their life. For that reason I didn't even watch Rocket Man, Bohemian Rapsody or Elvis, but the trailer of "Blonde" looked promising, and from some angles Anna was Merilyn, and the original and diverse cinematography made it worth watching from a creative and artistic point of view, it was engaging enough and not over-the-top artsy for me and totally worth the time (I don't even think it was too long eventually, I just didn't watch it in one sitting).
Might even re-watch it actually.

Just saw Blonde at the Festival de Deauville in presence of Ana de Armas and Andrew Dominik. The film was great and Ana in particular was incredible. Her performance as Marilyn Monroe is breathtaking. ANA DE ARMAS IS COMING FOR THAT OSCAR!!!

'Blonde' is a strange one.

There is nothing about it that I'd scream from the rooftops about, yet the heavy run time of around 2hrs 47mins went by in an absolute flash - not once was I bored with what I was watching; I tend to check how long is left of a movie when I'm finding it dull, but with this I didn't check at all - as clear a sign as any that I obviously enjoyed it.

I'm not fully convinced why, admittedly. I think it's just really interesting to watch from start-to-finish, the acting is very good and the film is put together well. I wasn't sure about having Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe during the first few scenes, though I quickly lost those thoughts as she gives a great performance.

I get the criticisms (though how many biopics truly stick to reality?) but I predominantly judge films as films, and this is a very watchable one in my books. I'm not saying it's anything special, though for a near 3hr flick to fly by it evidently gave me what I require.

I really loved this movie, Ana is just one of a kind, she really delivered. Cinematography also very good the use of B&W and color was spot on. I truly feel like this is not for everybody to watch or enjoy... I ended watching it much like the movie itself... in a sad note. Some comments say this movie portrayed Norma as unintelligent aka stupid, not at all... every time she tried to show her skills and what she had everyone just saw Marilyn. If you don't like the «jumping around in an incoherent way» like many said.
Well they didn't see what i saw then, you go through the emocional rollercoaster that she went and how could she put a smile after some events is just proof that she was stronger than most men that were around her.
Norma was just a victim of bad circumstances and good looks nonetheless I truly enjoyed this film and it's a shame that not many people are going to see it.

Gorgeous cinematography and color grading, and creative use of aspect ratio changes; inspired score; and phenomenal acting (especially of note is the child playing young Norma Jean-- both she and the mother were frighteningly convincing.)

This film is much more a mythologized psychological head trip art house drama than biopic, so if you're confused by what I just said, you're probably too simple to appreciate any of the aforementioned, so you can leave your low ratings somewhere else that deserves it... like most of the rest of Netflix's catalogue. I can't imagine the film being any shorter, especially given how it already uses its time skips-- always from Norma's perspective. That was the one consistent thread throughout the film. You experience everything from her disturbed perspective. Whenever Ana turns directly to the camera, it's Norma _watching_ Marilyn act. The dialog can be a little hokey at times, but that's my only real gripe from a cinematic standpoint.

However, if you're an avid fan of Marilyn and know her true story well, then this will probably make you mad. I knew just enough getting into this that everything seemed plausible (I knew the deal with Di Maggio, and with Arthur Miller), but mainly I appreciated it for the experience that it was. But I can certainly understand what people might have against it on those grounds.

And a note about the nudity: I didn't find any of it to be titillating, or exploitive. Yes, Ana de Armas is gorgeous, and normally I'd be lusting after her onscreen form, but Norma Jean's story was too tragic, and I felt too much for the character and what she was going through. A large theme in the film (though not spelled out explicitly, for those who've never thought about or are naïve to the cultural context) is that of the hypocritical puritanical obsession with sex, and how Abrahamics/Christians/Westerners/Americans demonize women for having sexuality, while simultaneously commoditizing, marketing, and lusting after them. The irony is that she's hypersexualized as Marylin, while _clothed_, but the scenes with nudity are Norma's lived experiences, and are anything but.

Blonde is an absolutely haunting film, and while I'm not sure how accurate its portrayal of Marilyn Monroe is, it will undoubtedly rip your guts out and stay with you long after the credits roll. Ana de Armas is heartbreaking in her portrayal, delivering a performance that is both beautiful and devastating.

is a very sad movie.

I saw this movie together with my family, and we all had very different opinions on it. Overall, I would say that I liked it, while my parents didn't.

Their main criticism is that the movie is "an anguish", and while I do agree that the movie feels really really slow in many parts, I think it's kinda right that it feels that way. It's not supposed to be an easy watch, the movie literally depicts a life full of sadness, abuse, darkness, really makes the heart heavy.

It's not the kind of movie you watch to have a fun night with friends, it's a dive into the troubled existence of one of the most famous human beings in the last century. I found it rather fascinating, in a way.

Ana de armas is just...magnetic. Those times were I was losing interest and maybe thinking about picking up my phone for a couple minutes, she hooked me back up. As gorgeous as the original Marylin, couldn't tell the difference for many scenes.

This is not the kind of movie you recommend to anyone because I feel that it's a personal experience, there's nothing conventional about it. After almost 3 hours of watch time, you will feel really heavy in the heart, so don't watch it if you don't want to.

The greatest and most beautiful possession movie since the Exorcist