BLONDE

A fictionalized retelling of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, Ana de Armas stars as the blonde bombshell. As an audience member it's difficult to separate fact from fiction and this is a difficult film to get through (but not for the reasons you think). I am perplexed at the NC-17 rating, as while there is nudity in the film, it's not gratuitous. There are some difficult scenes presented to the audience but that's the point of it: Marilyn was so used, abused, and discarded in so many ways it's difficult to watch. Another point of contention coming in was de Armas' Cuban accent. While it stood out in the trailers, with the exception of a few scenes in the film with a runtime of 2 hours and 46 minutes, I did not find it distracting at all. de Marmas delivers a borderline Oscar nominee performance and she has the looks and vulnerability down pat. Anyone who is a fan of Monroe or de Armas I recommend slivering out the time to watch this at least once as she delivers such an emotional and towering performance. 6/10