---
title: "Blonde"
year: 2022
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/blonde"
fi1m_id: "blonde"
imdb_id: "tt1655389"
tmdb_id: 301502
wikidata_id: "Q66823622"
fi1m_score: 40
critics_score: 50
critics_reviews: 32
published: "2026-10-03T02:42:02.292584+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-03T02:42:02.707667+00:00"
region: "NO"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Blonde (2022)

Directed by Andrew Dominik · 2h 47m · Medietilsynet 18 · Drama

## Identity

Blonde

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/blonde
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** blonde
- **IMDb ID:** tt1655389
- **TMDB ID:** 301502
- **Wikidata ID:** Q66823622
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1655389/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/301502, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q66823622

**Fi1m score: 40** · Critics 50 from 32 reviews

*In a sentence:* Marilyn Monroe weeps again while everyone takes care to get the picture right

> Ana de Armas is moving as Marilyn Monroe, but Andrew Dominik gives her too little to play beyond pain. Precise visual reconstructions cannot make 167 minutes of repeated suffering a satisfying portrait.

## Synopsis

Norma Jeane (Ana de Armas) is an actor whose public identity, Marilyn Monroe, leaves little room for her private needs. She wants to be understood, but other people’s expectations repeatedly take precedence. Gladys (Julianne Nicholson), Cass Chaplin (Xavier Samuel) and Eddy G. Robinson Jr. (Evan Williams) are among the figures in her life. As attention settles on Marilyn’s appearance, Norma Jeane struggles to retain a sense of herself. Drawn from Joyce Carol Oates’s novel, this fictionalised account moves through familiar images of Monroe and experiences of exploitation, following the distance between the woman and her public face.

## Review

Andrew Dominik’s *Blonde* is a punishing, often skilfully made film that gives Marilyn Monroe too little to do beyond suffer. Adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’s novel, it treats her life as material for a nightmare rather than an orderly biography. That is a reasonable choice for a film about a woman overwhelmed by the image other people make of her. What is harder to accept is how seldom this 167-minute account becomes curious about the woman doing the work.

Ana de Armas makes the distance between Norma Jeane and Marilyn Monroe feel painful. Her performance allows us to see vulnerability without mistaking it for stupidity, and there is more sensitivity in her work than the role appears to permit. She gives us reason to want to spend time with this woman when the film seems interested chiefly in watching her be hurt. That is a substantial achievement in a part so restricted by the script.

Chayse Irvin’s cinematography gives the recreated Monroe images a troubling familiarity: we recognise the picture before we have considered the person inside it. Florencia Martin’s production design and Jennifer Johnson’s costumes help make that recognition almost immediate. The reconstructions are exacting, and the unsettling effect suits a film about someone whose appearance attracts so much attention. We can appreciate the care without finding the results any more revealing about Monroe.

Adam Robinson’s editing arranges the material as a restless collage, which suits the film’s disturbed view of celebrity. The difficulty is that another passage of suffering tends to confirm what the previous one has already told us, however differently it is presented. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis provide music with more emotional range than the writing gives its central character. The score can make the sadness affecting, but it cannot make each return to it necessary.

We grew angry at the repeated sight of Monroe weeping, because the film gives those tears so much time and her intelligence so little. Suffering belongs in this story; the problem is the narrowness of the part Andrew Dominik has written for her. Humour, curiosity and the satisfaction of being good at a job would complicate that part, and the film seems unwilling to allow much of them. Ana de Armas remains sensitive even when the writing gives her little beyond distress.

The psychological horror in *Blonde* is forceful. Its cruelty and visual distortions can convey the fear of being watched, judged and used, and a reassuring account of fame would scarcely be more honest. But even a nightmare needs some variation if it is to hold us for this long. The repeated emphasis on helplessness makes the film less disturbing as it goes on, because there is increasingly little left to discover about its subject.

The performance and the care of the reconstruction will be enough for some viewers, and we would not dismiss either. Nor do we need a flattering portrait, or a checklist of professional achievements. We do need a film that can imagine Monroe having an interest beyond her own pain. Come for Ana de Armas only if you can tolerate the repetition.

*Fi1m score 40, published 3 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews of Blonde lean negative, but praise for Ana de Armas is widespread, including among critics who reject the film around her. Her performance is repeatedly described as committed, vulnerable and humane, giving Marilyn Monroe an emotional presence that even hostile reviews acknowledge. Praise also clusters around Dominik’s visual invention and the meticulous recreation of familiar Monroe images, though critics disagree about what those images reveal.

The central divide concerns the film’s treatment of suffering. Supporters find compassion and psychological force in its brutality; detractors see repetitive exploitation that leaves little space for Monroe’s intelligence, humour or work. The spread is wide: Total Film finds uncomfortable but engaging cinema, while objecting to exploitative imagery; The New Yorker condemns the fixation on victimhood, with de Armas providing its chief redeeming quality. Even favourable reviews concede excess, and several mixed assessments find the visual flourishes more persuasive than the portrait.

## Straight answers

**Is Blonde worth watching?**

*Blonde* is difficult to recommend beyond Ana de Armas’s moving performance as Marilyn Monroe; we score it 40 out of 100. Its precise visual reconstructions may interest viewers drawn to Hollywood portraits, but 167 minutes of repeated suffering give Monroe too little room for intelligence, humour or life beyond pain.

**How long is Blonde, and what is it rated?**

*Blonde* runs 2h 47m and is rated 18 by the Medietilsynet in Norway. It is a drama film.

**Where can I watch Blonde in Norway?**

*Blonde* is streaming on Netflix in Norway. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Blonde, and is it suitable for children?**

*Blonde* carries a UK 18 certificate and is not suitable for children; its psychological horror, cruelty and repeated suffering make it a punishing adult drama. We find the visual distortions and fear of being watched, judged and used forceful, though viewers sensitive to exploitation or sustained emotional distress may find the repetition especially difficult.

**How does Blonde compare to Sunset Boulevard?**

*Blonde* is the less rewarding Hollywood nightmare beside [*Sunset Boulevard*](https://film.one/film/sunset-boulevard), which we recommend for its sharper writing, vicious humour and more moving portrait. Both examine the damage of celebrity, but *Sunset Boulevard* pays sharper attention to being forgotten, while *Blonde* repeatedly returns to Monroe’s helplessness despite Ana de Armas’s sensitive performance.

**Is Blonde based on a true story or a book?**

*Blonde* is adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’s novel and offers a fictionalised account of Marilyn Monroe, rather than a factual biography. We would approach it as a nightmare built around her public image and experiences of exploitation; reading the novel is not a prerequisite, but recognising that distinction matters more than familiarity with the source.

**What should I watch after Blonde?**

After *Blonde*, try [*Sunset Boulevard*](https://film.one/film/sunset-boulevard) (1950, Fi1m 91): Another Hollywood nightmare, with sharper attention to the damage of being forgotten. Then [*Persona*](https://film.one/film/persona) (1966, Fi1m 89): Two women, unstable identities and faces examined with far more patience; and [*Perfect Blue*](https://film.one/film/perfect-blue) (1997, Fi1m 82): An animated account of celebrity and fractured identity that earns its terror.

### Reviews we read (32)

- **Total Film**, Jane Crowther (5/5): Crowther calls the film uncomfortable but engaging, unbridled cinema that will divide opinion. She praises Ana de Armas’s soulful portrayal, while criticizing the exploitative imagery in the final third. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/blonde-review-netflix/)
- **Little White Lies**, Leila Latif (70/100, inferred): Latif finds the film exhilarating and highly accomplished, though its explicit and disturbing choices may alienate viewers. She especially praises Dominik’s anarchic collage of Monroe’s famous images for conveying her unknowability. [Read](https://lwlies.com/festivals/blonde-venice-film-festival-review)
- **Radio Times**, Emma Simmonds (70/100, inferred): The review finds the film compassionate and eye-opening, though its outlandish style sometimes overwhelms its emotional impact. It singles out the film’s compassionate approach as a strength. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/blonde-review-netflix/)
- **The AV Club**, Todd Gilchrist (B-): The review finds the film uneven and ultimately unsuccessful at bringing Monroe fully into focus, despite much to admire. It especially praises Ana de Armas’s transformative performance and the inventive recreation of Monroe’s iconic screen images. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/blonde-review-marilyn-monroe-ana-de-armas-1849540275)
- **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (70/100, inferred): Gleiberman finds the film flawed but haunting, with a powerful understanding of Monroe’s tragic inner life. He especially praises Ana de Armas’s shimmering, candid performance, while faulting some choices, including an over-the-top episode involving two playboys. [Read](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/blonde-review-ana-de-armas-andrew-dominik-adrien-brody-marilyn-monroe-1235362257/)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (70/100, inferred): Ebiri finds the film beautiful, mesmerizing, and deeply moving, though deliberately alienating and brutal. He praises its visual and sonic imagination and Ana de Armas’s committed performance. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-netflixs-blonde-starring-ana-de-armas.html)
- **Screen Daily**, Fionnuala Halligan (64/100, inferred): The standfirst describes the film as a voyeuristic portrait of Marilyn Monroe. The accessible text does not reveal the critic’s fuller verdict or what the review singles out for praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/blonde-venice-review/5174252.article)
- **IndieWire**, Sophie Monks Kaufman (C+): The critic finds the film a monotonous, miserabilist portrait that reduces Marilyn Monroe to a victim. She praises Ana de Armas’s committed performance and Chayse Irvin’s cinematography, while faulting the film’s lack of nuance. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/blonde-review-marilyn-monroe-ana-de-armas-1234759905/)
- **The Guardian**, Leslie Felperin (50/100, inferred): Felperin finds the film ravishing and moving but also intensely irritating and excessive. She praises Ana de Armas’s persuasive performance, while criticizing how little agency the story gives Monroe. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/sep/08/blonde-review-some-like-it-rotten-monroe-biopic-is-moving-explicit-and-intensely-irritating)
- **Sight and Sound**, BFI (45/100, inferred): The critic finds the film boldly confrontational but troubling in its focus on Marilyn’s fragility and victimhood. They praise Ana de Armas’s uncanny, moving performance and the meticulous recreation of iconic images. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/blonde-shock-snapshots-stars-martyrdom-altar-showbiz-patriarchy)
- **Evening Standard**, Jo-Ann Titmarsh (2/5): Titmarsh finds the film frustrating and disempowering, despite some inventive filmmaking. She praises the cast, especially Ana de Armas’s presence, but says the role gives her too little room to show Monroe’s intelligence and humour. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/blonde-movie-review-ana-de-armas-marilyn-monroe-powerless-b1024146.html)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (40/100, inferred): Rooney calls the film a must-see despite finding its excesses cruel and overwhelmingly unpleasant. He praises Ana de Armas’s raw performance, while criticizing the film’s lurid treatment of Monroe’s suffering. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/blonde-ana-de-armas-andrew-dominik-marilyn-monroe-netflix-venice-1235214391/)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (2/5): The review finds the biopic disappointing, calling it unsubtle and myth-reinforcing. It singles out Ana de Armas’s performance as Marilyn Monroe for praise. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/blonde-review-2022)
- **Slant Magazine**, Jake Cole (1.5/4): Cole argues that the film’s repeated depictions of Monroe’s abuse reduce her to a victim and do a disservice to her artistic ambitions. He praises its ravishing visual style and cinematography, while criticizing its brutality and shallow treatment of Monroe’s work. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/blonde-review-ana-de-armas-andrew-dominik/)
- **Empire**, Catherine Bray (35/100, inferred): Bray finds the film elusive and overly focused on Marilyn Monroe’s suffering, with little sense of her personal evolution. She praises its striking visual reconstructions and surreal imagery, while noting that Ana de Armas’s performance feels constrained. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/blonde-2/)
- **Film Comment**, Jessica Kiang (25/100, inferred): The critic finds the film visually driven but ultimately lacking insight. The headline singles out its failure to offer insight into Marilyn Monroe. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/in-the-dark-andrew-dominik-blonde-review-marilyn-monroe/)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (25/100, inferred): The review finds the film a troubling, exploitative take on Marilyn Monroe. It singles out Ana de Armas’s performance amid its criticism of the film’s treatment of Monroe. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/28/movies/blonde-review-marilyn-monroe.html)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (20/100, inferred): Chang finds the film punishing, incurious and overly focused on Monroe’s suffering, leaving little room for her talent or agency. He praises Ana de Armas’ intensely felt performance, which he says is lost in the film’s sprawl. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-09-26/blonde-review-netflix-marilyn-monroe-ana-de-armas)
- **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (15/100, inferred): Newland finds the film empty and reductive, reducing Monroe to a relentlessly weeping victim. She praises Ana de Armas’s performance and Dominik’s visual style, but says neither can overcome the character’s conception. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/blonde-review-film-ana-de-armas-marilyn-monroe-weepy-ridiculous-victim-1839217)
- **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (10/100, inferred): Brody pans the film as vulgar and sadistically focused on Monroe’s victimization. He praises Ana de Armas’s energetic, nuanced performance as the one element that lends it dignity. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/blonde-is-the-passion-of-the-christ-for-marilyn-monroe)
- **Collider**, Brian Formo (8/10): Formo finds the film alienating, exploitative, and empathetic, ultimately an effective and disarming experience. He especially praises Dominik’s evocative visual style and de Armas’s portrayal of Norma Jeane’s split identity. [Read](https://collider.com/blonde-review-marilyn-monroe-ana-de-armas/)
- **HeyUGuys** (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as a harrowing, visually inventive interpretation rather than a definitive biography. They single out Dominik’s gothic visual artistry and Ana de Armas’s performance, while acknowledging the film’s upsetting impact. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/blonde-review/)
- **NME**, Alex Flood (4/5): The review finds the film an audacious, unsettling psychological horror, despite its shortcomings as a portrait of Monroe. It singles out Ana de Armas’s raw, humane performance as the element that cuts through the film’s exploitation. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/blonde-review-marilyn-monroe-netflix-ana-de-armas-3318809)
- **Deadline**, Damon Wise (75/100, inferred): Wise finds the film fascinating and praises its bold, unconventional reimagining of Monroe’s life. He singles out Ana de Armas’s emotionally complex performance as the film’s essential strength. [Read](https://deadline.com/2022/09/blonde-review-ana-de-armas-marilyn-monroe-movie-andrew-dominik-netflix-1235111307/)
- **Paste**, Jesse Hassenger (7.8): Hassenger calls the film a daring, empathetic deconstruction that is also a miserabilist wallow in exploitation. He praises Ana de Armas’s performance and the film’s vivid visual ideas, while noting its punishing monotony and uncomfortable excesses. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/marilyn-monroe/blonde-review)
- **/Film**, Lex Briscuso (5.5/10): The critic finds the film ambitious but disjointed, with its ideas and visual flourishes failing to cohere. Ana de Armas’s powerful performance and striking visual moments are singled out as strengths. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/999050/blonde-review-ana-de-armas-powerhouse-performance-tries-hard-to-save-an-ambitious-mess-venice/)
- **Den of Geek**, David Crow (2.5/5): The critic finds the film cold and exploitative, despite its considerable craft. Ana de Armas’s vulnerable performance is singled out for praise, but the film’s fixation on Monroe as victim leaves that performance constrained. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/blonde-review-ana-de-armas-marilyn-monroe-deserve-better/)
- **Eye for Film**, Nikola Jovic (50/100, inferred): Jovic finds the film bleak and over-aestheticised, yet ultimately the exact movie that needed to be made. He singles out its lush, carefully recreated imagery as both visually striking and part of its troubling reduction of Monroe to an image. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/blonde-2022-film-review-by-nikola-jovic)
- **Consequence**, Clint Worthington (35/100, inferred): Worthington finds the film visually astonishing but ultimately troubling in how it depicts Monroe. He praises the cinematography and striking imagery, while faulting the film for turning Monroe into an aesthetic object. [Read](https://consequence.net/2022/09/blonde-review-netflix-marilyn-monroe/)
- **The Wrap** (35/100, inferred): The critic finds Blonde formally accomplished but ultimately self-serving, arguing that it fails to restore Monroe’s agency. They praise Dominik’s precise visual control, especially the surreal nightmare logic of the closing act. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/blonde-netflix-review-ana-de-armas-marilyn-monroe/)
- **Digital Spy** (20/100, inferred): The review condemns the film as a cruel, dehumanizing portrayal of Monroe. It praises Ana de Armas’s effort to bring humanity to the role, though the film gives her little room beyond suffering. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a41401688/blonde-review-netflix/)
- **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (15/100, inferred): Nayman finds the film technically gifted but ultimately cruel, self-congratulatory, and emotionally hollow. He singles out Ana de Armas’s performance as its humane emotional center. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2022/09/28/movies/blonde-movie-review-marilyn-monroe-biopic)

## Details

- **Director:** Andrew Dominik
- **Director:** Andrew Dominik
- **Writer:** Andrew Dominik
- **Novel:** Joyce Carol Oates
- **Cinematography:** Chayse Irvin
- **Editor:** Adam Robinson
- **Music:** Nick Cave, Warren Ellis
- **Production design:** Florencia Martin
- **Costume design:** Jennifer Johnson
- **Producer:** Tracey Landon, Brad Pitt, Scott Robertson
- **Cast:** Ana de Armas as Norma Jeane / Marilyn Monroe; Adrien Brody as The Playwright; Bobby Cannavale as The Ex-Athlete; Sara Paxton as Miss Flynn; Lucy DeVito as Ex-Athlete's Niece; Julianne Nicholson as Gladys; Scoot McNairy as Tommy Ewell / Richard Sherman; Xavier Samuel as Cass Chaplin
- **Runtime:** 2h 47m
- **Certificate (Medietilsynet):** 18
- **Release (Norway):** 28 September 2022
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Budget:** $22 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIsFywuZPoQ

## Where to watch in Norway

- Netflix: streaming

*Checked 2026-10-03.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture 2022: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture (won)

## If you liked this

- *Sunset Boulevard* (1950), Fi1m 91: Another Hollywood nightmare, with sharper attention to the damage of being forgotten. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/sunset-boulevard.md)
- *Persona* (1966), Fi1m 89: Two women, unstable identities and faces examined with far more patience. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/persona.md)
- *Perfect Blue* (1997), Fi1m 82: An animated account of celebrity and fractured identity that earns its terror. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/perfect-blue.md)
- *Mulholland Drive* (2001), Fi1m 92: Hollywood longing turns frightening, with room for desire, humour and uncertainty. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mulholland-drive.md)
- *Spencer* (2021), Fi1m 73: A public woman’s private distress, given more space for anger and resistance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/spencer.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/blonde