This was the movie I have been waiting patiently to watch. When the day came, I was sooo excited. I knew that this was loosely based on Marilyn Monroe’s life AND I knew that this was a work of fiction since the movie is based on the book by Joyce Carol Oates with the same title. More often that not, movies based on ‘true events’ will have artistic liberties, so I was expecting a bit of exaggeration.
I am a fan of Ana de Armas, I think I first saw her in the movie Knives Out and she was so cute and adorable. She is one of the actresses that I look forward to watching on screen. So with Blonde, I was really excited. I think you can say that I am a bit fascinated with the life of Marilyn Monroe. I remember what piqued my curiosity with her was when I learned that she was one of the first actresses to do plastic surgery to enhance their looks. I mean, imagine that – in the 50’s and look at her, she’s gorgeous.
As most actors and celebrities – we all know that even if we find them beautiful and glamorous, they have their own insecurities. I mean, I feel that this applies to everyone – except that for these actors, actresses, and celebrities – it’s magnified. Stardom they say has it’s trade off, and I personally believe it to be true, thus being ‘out there’ has it’s moments of good and moments of bad – as is in real life.
The movie is not as I imagined it to be, as I mentioned – artistic liberties. It was dark, disturbing, yet is very real and relevant. It showcased an idea on how a person is being typecast in movies/shows, like in real life. There is this persona that people like to see of you, and it’s up to you to live up to that performance. It didn’t really occur to me how an actor’s mental state disturbs their norm, I mean – it’s all an ‘act’ right? But what I failed to realize is that, yes – it is work BUT that work somehow disrupts and sort of distorts a person’s reality. Being an actor involves internalizing the role to portray it better, it’s not as simple as crying on cue, laughing on cue, learning stunts, memorizing scripts. It’s sort of alters you personally to be able to portray a character well. I remember how Heath Ledger was so affected when he portrayed the Joker. I didn’t understand it then, but I understand it now – how mentally strong an actor should be to be able to overcome these ‘internalizing’ roles.
Panget kept on uttering ‘This is a weird movie’ in the first thirty minutes of the film, it was weird, and odd and extra-ordinary. The way the movie was shown wasn’t as linear as we’d expect it to be – I guess that is the style of the director, it gives us a glimpse of that ‘artistic liberty’ but I found it very very interesting how the story was told add to that, the film was in BLACK and WHITE, more dramatic, you say!
During the whole movie, I felt sad when Norma Jean was sad, I felt happy when she happy, I found myself feeling fear in the anticipation of something bad that will happen to her. I was like on a front seat of her rollercoaster life! I guess, I was drawn into the movie and I my emotions were too. Ana de Armas, Panget said was crying most of the time – I guess because it was a sad portrayal of Marilyn Monroe. I was in awe of her performance, when the cameras were on her and she needed to perform, it was like she was a different person. And then when the cameras were off, she was like a switch that turns off immediately, what was a bright persona in front of the cameras would automatically become a depressed on when the lights were out. It was disturbing and fascinating at the same time. I mean, how – HOW the hell does she do that?!
Fame and fortune has it’s price and she paid for it with her life. Men wanted her, yearned for her – while she only wanted to be LOVED in return. It’s a really sad movie, what she went through – I mean, for sure she was complicit to it, but I guess what she didn’t realize was the toll it would take on her life.
People have this image of her, the seductress, the dumb blonde, the most desirable woman, the woman every man wants to have a piece of. Maybe she wanted it, maybe she didn’t – that we will never know. I was so sad for the heroine, there were so many things that she experienced that she didn’t deserve. I was sad for all women, I mean – we are always treated as second, and this movie amplified how much more effort we need to make in order to succeed.
It’s actually a scary movie disguised as a biopic.
Nevertheless, I still liked and appreciated the movie.
There were a lot of scenes that were really very painful AND shocking to watch, but we you have to get through it. It’s reel and real, I mean – seriously, were you even surprised?
