Saturday 10 September 2022 12:16 AM Ana de Armas lauded in reviews of X-rated Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde 14 ... trends now
A nearly three-hour epic examining the public and private life of Hollywood superstar Marilyn Monroe appears to have critics enthralled following its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on Thursday.
Blonde – one of the most anticipated films on the festival's slate – is based on a work of biographical fiction by Joyce Carol Oates and charts star's troubled childhood as Norma Jeane through to global stardom as Marilyn Monroe.
The Netflix film, produced by Brad Pitt's company Plan B, will be available on the streaming service on September 23 snd as received rave reviews from critics, with Ana's performance being described as 'extraordinary' by gushing critics.
Directed by Andrew Dominik, it stars Ana de Armas, who was born in Cuba and worked with a dialect coach for a year to prepare for the role.
The cast also features Adrien Brody as Arthur Miller and Bobby Cannavale as Joe DiMaggio.
Andrew Dominik's Marilyn Monroe film starring Ana de Armas, had its world premiere on Thursday night at the Venice International Film Festival. Pictured, Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe
Ana de Armas stars as Marilyn/Norma Jeane Baker in Andrew's Dominik adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates novel, which reimagines the life of the tragic Hollywood star
The Telegraph's critic Robbie Collin heaped praise on the fictionalized take on Marilyn's life as he awarded the Netflix film a four-star review.
Addressing criticism that Spanish star Ana would be using her natural accent in the role, he praised the actress for capturing Marilyn with 'extraordinary psychological precision and real depth of feeling'.
'Not only does she look the part, she understands that the part is a dismantling of the look,' he said.
'Blonde is severe and serious-minded almost to a fault: you rather wonder how many viewers at home will soldier on to the end when it lands on Netflix after a limited theatrical release.
'In the cinema, though, it swallows you up like an uneasy dream, at once all too familiar and pricklingly unreal.'
The actress, 34, who plays Marilyn Monroe in the movie, was brought to tears as Blonde received the longest standing ovation at this year's Venice Film Festival at 14 minutes duration
The Guardian's Leslie Felperin gave a more conservative three-star review as it criticized the film for not giving Marilyn 'much agency in her story'.
'The psychological framework is very old-school Hollywood Freudian, which doesn't give Monroe herself much agency in her story,' the review said.
However, the film critic could not fault Ana's performance, penning: 'De Armas's intense and ultimately persuasive performance goes a long way towards bringing the goddess down to earth, but will that be enough?'
Deadline described Ana as Dominik's 'muse' as they addressed the 'astonishing' way Marilyn's story was retold - through the lens of a fictionalized book, rather than autobiographical material.
Blonde, produced by Brad Pitt, has received rave reviews from critics, with Ana's performance being described as 'extraordinary' by gushing reviewers
Critic Damon Wise went on to gush over the technological successes of the movie, but said it was Ana's performance that carried the film.
'Andrew Dominik's Venice Film Festival competition entry 'Blonde' takes a blowtorch to the entire concept of the Hollywood biopic and arrives at something almost without precedent,' Wise said.
He wrote: 'That the film works at all is down to the extraordinary performance at the heart of it: Ana de Armas carries the film squarely on her shoulders, depicting Monroe over a period of some 16 years, and the performance — actually more of an interpretation, helped by the actress's liminal resemblance — is all-in, ferociously emotional but complex in its nuances as it explores the child-like sex symbol's many paradoxes.'
'For the brave and the curious, Blonde should prove fascinating, an engrossing slow-motion car wreck of a movie that puts you squarely in the driver's seat of the oncoming vehicle,' the review concluded.
Elsewhere, Vulture's critic Bilge Ebiri noted that although Marilyn doesn't have 'agency' in the story, the movie is never 'boring' due to its incredible cinematography.
The actress blew kisses at the adoring crowds as she received huge praise for Blonde
'Blonde is beautiful, mesmerizing, and, at times, deeply moving. But it's also alienating — again, by design — constantly turning the camera on the viewer, sometimes with Marilyn directly addressing it,' they said.
Variety's critic Owen Gleiberman said
