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With: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Xavier Samuel, Julianne Nicholson, Evan Williams, Toby Huss, David Warshofsky, Caspar Phillipson, Dan Butler, Sara Paxton, Rebecca Wisocky, Tygh Runyan, Michael Drayer, Ryan Vincent, Patrick Brennan, Eric Matheny, Lucy DeVito, Scoot McNairy, Ravil Isyanov, Catherine Dent, Michael Masini, Chris Lemmon, Ned Bellamy, Haley Webb, Eden Riegel, Garret Dillahunt, Spencer Garrett, Lily Fisher, Vanessa Lemonides
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Written by: Andrew Dominik, based on a novel by Joyce Carol Oates
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Directed by: Andrew Dominik
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MPAA Rating: NC-17 for some sexual content
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Running Time: 167
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Date: 09/28/2022
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Something's Got to Give
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
People have responded to this punishing biopic with outright hate, and it is indeed a long, shocking, and disturbing watch, but Andrew Dominik's Blonde is much better than the hype suggests. Based on Joyce Carol Oates's 2000 novel, the movie is a radically exaggerated version of the life of Marilyn Monroe, and it can seem cruel. But as with Dominik's masterful The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, it's perhaps more interested in deconstructing myth. It demonstrates the male gaze, and tackles issues of male-centered desire, possession, and control, showing the true, toxic nature of these behaviors. Today we see Monroe as a star, and a legend, but Blonde sees her as something closer to a victim, used up and spat out by a male-dominated system. Dominik directs mostly in black-and-white, with shifting aspect ratios and woozy sequences that distort the passage of time. Above it all is Ana de Armas as Norma Jeane, truly suffering for her art and giving an impressive, applause-worthy performance.
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