JASON EVANS' 100-WORD REVIEWS: Blonde

 Creative and artistic, but impossible to watch


Film critic Jason Evans has made it his mission to tell you everything you need to know about movies in less time than it takes to blow wind up your skirt. His reviews are exactly 100 words long (99 is too few and 101 would be too much). Here is his 100-word review of Blonde.

The Premise: Writer/director Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James and Killing Them Softly) turns his gaze to the legendary career of Marilyn Monroe. Ana de Armas (Knives Out, No Time To Die) plays the Hollywood superstar in this film that tracks Monroe’s troubled life from childhood through her tragic death at age 36, including multiple affairs and marriages and Marilyn’s struggle to be accepted as more than a sex symbol. The film is based on Joyce Carol Oates’ novel, which contains many real events, but also has more than a few fictionalized moments. Don’t be tricked into thinking this is a faithful retelling of Monroe’s life.

The 100 Words: Though Dominik infuses the film with some creative directorial flourishes (maybe too many) and de Armas delivers a brave performance (she is abused/naked throughout much of the film), this is just a really hard watch. Marilyn is depressed, delusional, deranged, or drug-addicted throughout virtually every moment of this 166 minute film. After an hour you want to scream at the screen, “I get it, her life sucks!” but the film just goes on and on with the spectacle. Sitting through it in a theater was really hard, I can’t imagine how anyone could watch this at home on Netflix 

Reach out to Jason Evans on Twitter @JasonDukeEvans

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