'It wasn't made to please people': Ana de Armas dismisses 'rapecore' criticism of Marilyn Monroe biopic 'Blonde'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Blonde' released on Netflix on 16 September 2022. Since then it has been through public scrutiny and negative reviews from the audience. The Andrew Dominik drama takes the audience through the life and death of the iconic sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. Ana de Armas played the late icon and did a wonderful job dwelling on the character and enhancing the role.
Although Armas was appreciated by the audience for the role, critics thought the film didn't tell the story it was supposed to and just revolved around one particular note, without giving much power to Marilyn Monroe. The movie was based on the book 'Blonde', a novel by Joyce Carol Oates that presents a fictionalized take on the life of the American actress. Although, Oates insists that the novel is a work of fiction.
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'Thoroughly NOT enjoying': Netflix's ‘Blonde’ labeled as ‘unwatchable’ by viewers
'It is what it is'
'Blonde' was a depiction of Monroe's story told from an intimate third-person narrative while also criticizing the whole toxic structure of Hollywood. The film was particularly accused of depicting Monroe's life through a narrow, misogynistic lens, primarily focusing on the trauma that Monroe endured throughout her life. Nevertheless, Armas said in an exclusive interview that this was not the case and that film director Andrew Dominik's goal in making the movie was to tell a story that the late Monroe experienced, not to win over reviewers or viewers. Armas talked about the exceptional opportunity she had been given and how, in Hollywood, such possibilities only come up occasionally. Armas didn't think a Cuban actress would ever be asked to play Marilyn Monroe, but it's obvious that she made a fantastic job of it.
"It’s hard to hear these reactions, but you can always go back to what you experienced, and why you did it, and the reasons why you were attracted to the project. That is not going to change. You have the director, and you have other actors that you can always talk to. As hard as it is to hear when people don’t like your film, it is what it is. It was not a movie that was made to please people or to make people like it. It is a hard movie to watch," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Why was 'Blonde' scrutinized?
There were conflicting opinions regarding 'Blonde' on the Internet after its premiere, but there are deeper reasons why critics were unkind to the film. The director of the movie, Andrew Dominik, considered increasing the events to the greatest extent in order to make the movie more genuine and a story that strikes the audience in a more understanding way. As a result, a lot of fans expressed their feelings on social media about how the nearly three-hour video was unwatchable due to the graphic abuse, brutality, and rape scenes. The movie came out traumatizing for some as it had many detailed scenes that were both graphic and horrifying.
Armas also pointed out that the idea that made people criticize the movie is because of the harsh state of the industry and the things that happen in it. She also shared how hard it is for people to digest the fact that all of these things have happened in their own industry to a well-known icon. She said, "I don’t think the movie speaks badly about her a bit. I think it’s the opposite. I think it speaks badly about the environment and the industry, and that’s a hard pill to swallow sometimes for other people in the business." She further added, "I feel like the movie also makes the audience feel like participants. We contributed at the time, and we still contribute, in the exploitation of actors, people in the public eye. We, the audience, do this. And I feel like it’s possible that some people have felt like [someone] pointed a finger at [them]."