Ana de Armas starrer Blonde (2022) received a lot of backlash for its portrayal of the American icon Marilyn Monroe. While depicting a misogynistic environment to the up-and-coming Marilyn Monroe character, the fans clearly had some problems with the film.
The director of the movie Andrew Dominik recently stated why the movie was hated by the fans and claimed that people wanted an empowered woman in the movie.
Ana de Armas Starrer Blonde Was Depicted as Misogynistic
Blonde depicted a modified biopic of the American icon and the classic “blonde bombshell” actress Marilyn Monroe. The movie was helmed by the Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas and she portrayed the character brilliantly.
The movie seemingly depicted a misogynistic environment and the character was sometimes treated harshly. While talking about the film, Andrew Dominik spoke on the Red Sea International Film Festival. Stating that the movie received a lot of hate because the people wanted a modified version of Marilyn Monroe as a strong and empowered woman, here’s what the director of Blonde said,
“Now we’re living in a time where it’s important to present women as empowered, and they want to reinvent Marilyn Monroe as an empowered woman. That’s what they want to see. And if you’re not showing them that, it upsets them.”
Andrew Dominik further stated that it did not matter anymore as to how he depicts the character since Marilyn Monroe is passed away.
“Which is kind of strange, because she’s dead. The movie doesn’t make any difference in one way or another.
He further continued, “What they really mean is that the film exploited their memory of her, their image of her, which is fair enough. But that’s the whole idea of the movie. It’s trying to take the iconography of her life and put it into service of something else, it’s trying to take things that you’re familiar with, and turning the meaning inside out. But that’s what they don’t want to see.”
Suffice it to say, the director felt that he had indeed done his job beautifully since so many people had been outraged at the movie. Andrew Dominik also felt that he wanted to turn the image of Marilyn Monroe and twist it in such a way that the people had not seen before.
Why Blonde’s Director Stays Happy Despite People’s Outrage
During the above-mentioned festival, Andrew Dominik claimed that the Ana de Armas-starrer was hated by the audience. He further continued that it was an indication of his job well done since that was his plan anyways.
[To] offend your audience was a solemn duty, to wrench them out of a complacency about things. Andrew Dominik was actually pleased with himself that the movie outraged so many people.
Continuing further, the director clarified that American movies were getting too much like “bedtime stories”.
“But I don’t want to make bedtime stories.”
Blonde received a mixed reception and currently stands at a whopping low of 5.5/10 on IMDB and a meagre 42% on Rotten Tomatoes. Ana de Armas however, was applauded and loved for her beautiful portrayal of Marilyn Monroe.
Blonde is available to stream on Netflix.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
