Most directors would be concerned if their movie faced criticism, but director Andrew Dominik is unexpectedly happy about it.
Since its debut on Netflix, Dominik’s movie “Blonde,” which is based on the life of Hollywood actor Marilyn Monroe, has drawn criticism. Dominik reportedly stated that he was “really pleased” that the movie “outraged so many people” at the Red Sea International Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. “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,” the ‘Killing Them Softly’ director stated. “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,” he added.
According to a People article, “Blonde” received criticism for using fictionalised sequences and situations based on unverified accounts to exploit Monroe’s emotional problems.
The film stars ‘The Gray Man’ actor Ana De Armas as the “blonde bombshell” and showcases her life, with its ups and downs, until her death.