Trigger warnings: mentions of sexual assault, miscarraige, forced abortion, and child abuse
When you search Marilyn Monroe on the internet, the first results you’ll get describe her as a ‘bombshell’ or a “sex symbol.” These descriptions might not be wrong; she was a precusor of the sexual revolution of the 20th Century, after all, but she was also an accomplished actor, an intelligent woman who had her own personal library, and a philanthropist who, during her life, donated to a multitude of children’s charities. With her horrible death at such a young age, Monroe became a sort of beautiful tragedy; think Evelyn McHale. People were–and still are– enraptured by her tragic tale. Andrew Dominik, director of the movie Blonde, is one of them. The movie follows Monroe through her entire life, from her foggy childhood up until her death. And it’s probably the most misleading, miserable, and exploitative film I’ve seen in my entire life. Aside from the blatant, undisguised sexualization of Marilyn Monroe—and the respective actor playing her, Ana De Armas— the movie also contains many, many, gratuitous scenes of sexual assault. Some shots in the movie made me have to pause it and step away because of how graphic and disgusting they were, for absolutely no reason. One example of this was zooming in on Ana De Armas’ body parts, and having her refer to all of her romantic interests as ‘daddy’. As far as we know, these assaults did not happen in real life, so they certainly weren’t included to make the film realistic. Most of the relationships and many of the traumatic events were completely made up. However, nowhere in the film does it make that clear. If I didn’t know as much as I do about Marilyn Monroe, I might have believed these events actually happened to her. The director, Andrew Dominik, is clearly indulging himself with no regard or respect for Monroe’s memory. It’s a vulgar misrepresentation of her through the male gaze.
Much of the film is like this—focusing on Marilyn’s relationship with men, rather than Marilyn herself. The movie gives great attention to her fictitious polyamourous relationship with two fellow actors Charlie Chaplin Jr. and Eddy G. Robinson Jr., her relationship with JFK, and with various directors. The only relationship of any impact she has with a woman is in the beginning of the movie, with her mother, who she is abused by. In an interview, Andrew Dominik made his stance on Monroe very clear, stating “I think Marilyn was a guy’s girl… She was a person who was extraordinarily self-destructive.” The movie that results is an almost three hour long fantasy of sexualized victimhood written by a man who blames Monroe herself for how people treated her.
In addition, the film also includes a not-so-subtle theme of anti-abortion. In real life, Marilyn really did have struggles with miscarriages and couldn’t give birth in her life. The film shows her having an abortion so she could star in a movie. It then goes on to show the dead fetus speaking to her in dreams, saying things such as “You won’t kill me again, will you?” This scene, as misrepresentative as it seems, is consistent with Dominik’s victim-blaming attitude expressed in his interviews. Later, Dominik shows Marilyn’s miscarriage, seemingly blaming this on her overworking. It insinuates that she is to blame for this, which is especially offensive and disrespectful because Marilyn suffered from miscarriages in real life. Her last pregnancy in the movie is also the most disturbing. She becomes pregnant after an assault, and is forced to get an extrememly graphic, forced abortion. In the first and last two scenes, Marilyn has a flat stomach. However, the movie will zoom in on her stomach and show a fully formed fetus, and I think it is important to clarify that fetuses in early development do not look like that. No matter your opinions on abortion, false information like that should not be spread.
The fact that this movie was even greenlit shocks me. I haven’t seen a single positive review of it. I don’t know if Andrew Dominik was trying to be edgy, or included triggering scenes for shock effect, but I wouldn’t recommend the movie to anyone. It amazes me that Hollywood is still able to objectify and abuse Marilyn sixty years after her death. This movie only helps to thin the lines between Marilyn herself and the character that Marilyn plays. She was a person, not a piece of meat. She was intelligent and caring, and her memory should be nothing but respected, not mocked like it is in Blonde.