Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde garnered plenty of controversy upon release–but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The director is now speaking at the reaction of the movie, from its viewership to its criticisms.
Speaking at the Red Sea International Film Festival, Andrew Dominik said, “Criticism only hurts if you agree with it, and I didn’t really agree with any of it. I was expecting critical success and that no-one would see the film; Blonde was kind of the opposite. In America, they hated the movie. They were angry, outraged by the film – but a lot of people saw the film. I was kind of surprised by it.”
Andrew Dominik also suggested that viewers may even have a little guilt over their expectations and what transpires in Blonde. “I think her actual life was way worse than the film…If you spent 70 years enjoying a fantasy of a person, then a movie comes along that says she was not complicit in your enjoyment, it puts you in an uncomfortable position for having enjoyed it…We’re living in a time where it’s very important to present women as empowered, and they want to reinvent [Monroe] as an empowered woman.”
The NC-17 Blonde was a major hit on Netflix, but proved divisive with both viewers and critics. Stories circulated that many viewers turning it off after 20 minutes–leaving still about two hours and 40 minutes left. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus reads: “Ana de Armas’ luminous performance makes it difficult to look away, but Blonde can be hard to watch as it teeters between commenting on exploitation and contributing to it.” It also had a freethinking fetus, so, yeah, that may split an audience…
Adding to his thoughts, Andrew Dominik said, “The movie business has become less and less like that; the movie business and society in general has become very concerned with not offending people.”
Did you watch Blonde? What did you think of it? What are your thoughts on Andrew Dominik’s statements? Let us know in the comments below.