For weeks, Don’t Worry Darling improbably held the trophy for most controversial movie of early awards season. But now that it’s out, it’s Blonde’s turn to shine. Ana de Armas is getting rave reviews for playing the lead in a heavily fictionalized take on screen icon Marilyn Monroe. (It’s based on a novel, by Joyce Carol Oates, not a biography.) The film itself, though, has proven extremely divisive, and not just because of its NC-17-rated button-pushing. And now its director has poured a tub of gasoline on what was a relatively tiny fire.
My interview with Andrew Dominik about Blonde – a film I detested – is now available online for @SightSoundmag. I think it was an illuminating chat. https://t.co/RIXOJDfNpB
— Christina Newland (@christinalefou) September 27, 2022
Film critic Christina Newland, who admitted she “detested” the film, did an interview for Sight and Sound with filmmaker Andrew Dominik, of the acclaimed The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, as well as the very good Chopper (which introduced America to Eric Bana) and the very tough neo-noir Killing Them Softly. Throughout their chat, Newland is diplomatic but at times forceful, even occasionally handing Dominik rope with which to hang himself — which he repeatedly does.
On one hand, Dominik explains that he saw the novel — if not Monroe’s actual life — as being “about how childhood drama shapes an adult’s perception of the world.” He also says he did an “enormous amount of research” on her, and that he “read everything there is to read about Marilyn Monroe.”
At the same time, people felt Dominik seemed weirdly uninterested in Monroe, as either an actress or a person, beyond someone who could have been “saved” from her demons and from the abuse she’s shown facing. Many felt that ultimately resulted in a lack of empathy on his part.
https://twitter.com/ornggblossom/status/1574850069781745671
This is a brilliant piece of interviewing which hands Dominik the rope. He comes over as a man who not only gives no shits about Marilyn Monroe but also one who doesn’t particularly like women at all. https://t.co/OgkwfqG7fO
— Mic Wright (@brokenbottleboy) September 27, 2022
Wow really sounds like a guy who wants to get at the emotional truth of this woman’s life https://t.co/jCD0MfSMOt pic.twitter.com/sKBWzV8sT7
— xh (@hxxxxxhhh) September 27, 2022
At one point, Newland brings up how the movie ignores many of her accomplishments: starting her own production company, challenging HUAC, fighting for civil rights. But Dominik brushes that off, saying that’s “not really what the film is about” and that making a film about a powerful woman was “not so interesting to me.”
this is a very considered question from @christinalefou and Andrew Dominick just… says… THIS?? Illuminating indeed!! https://t.co/AeGAxrEXXM pic.twitter.com/fUvfQehAsi
— Eloise Hendy (@EloiseHendy) September 27, 2022
such a thoughtful question from Christina and such a callous answer from AD https://t.co/b1V7tIAiG0 pic.twitter.com/tqsWbCphwa
— 🏳️🌈 Ms. Marya E. Gates 🦩 (@oldfilmsflicker) September 27, 2022
Some bristled at the idea that the film, taking from Oates’ novel, just makes some stuff up that some viewers not so familiar with Monroe’s life might take as real.
https://twitter.com/ornggblossom/status/1574850486737506309
Others thought Dominik was only interested in her as someone who took her own life.
Imagine reducing a woman's life to her death and calling that depth. Telling the audience that this was the only thing that mattered about her and being proud of yourself for doing so. https://t.co/YjuLAObQmj pic.twitter.com/snWAdPOtyg
— Olivia Truffaut-Wong (@iWatchiAm) September 27, 2022
Newland also published an outtake, which was arguably the worst part. In it, he wonders if anyone still watches Monroe’s movie, and seems dismissive of one of her best films, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
& here, I'm afraid, is an outtake. pic.twitter.com/1WxLzIKZh6
— Christina Newland (@christinalefou) September 27, 2022
To which some people said, yes, people still watch Marilyn Monroe movies — one reason the film got greenlit.
"Who still watches Marilyn Monroe movies" proves so much about where AD's head was at with BLONDE. https://t.co/aQC3yHngzX
— Kristen Lopez (@kristenlopez88) September 27, 2022
The exchange strongly signaled to some that Dominik does not like or even respect Monroe.
i think it’s worse that andrew has spent 10 years prepping/trying to get this movie done. he was watching marilyn’s movies , talking to people who knew her , going to her old homes , studying every image of her and this is the result. https://t.co/hQKDaqW7e6
— barbie (@sakcore18) September 27, 2022
https://twitter.com/remainsoflilies/status/1574841144944594949
It’s genuinely pissing me off how little respect Andrew Dominik has for Marilyn Monroe as both an artist and a person. His quotes about her really illustrate that his biopic is nothing but grotesque exploitation of an abused woman that dehumanizes her in favor of shock value https://t.co/AsckaEUj5c
— CLOSED. (@cocainecross) September 27, 2022
If you don't like MM's movies and you clearly don't respect her then WHY DID YOU GET TO MAKE A MARILYN MOVIE?? https://t.co/lJC3c944kX
— Amityville Amber (@ElementalAmber) September 27, 2022
imagine making a movie about somebody while also deeply misunderstanding and having utter contempt for their body of work. what a clown lmao https://t.co/3gPmySwYcn
— sarah jae (@sarahjaeleiber) September 27, 2022
https://twitter.com/tyburr/status/1574811134485463040
To some, it was reminiscent of when Aaron Sorkin, writer-director of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz biopic Being the Ricardos, was dismissive of the pioneering sitcom I Love Lucy.
I'm all for filmmakers making whatever they'd like but it's kinda strange when dudes make movies about iconic women with artistic legacies they don't even seem to dig. See also: Sorkin talking about not really finding I LOVE LUCY funny during his BEING THE RICARDOS press tour. https://t.co/B2kc1S1X9N
— Jen Johans (@FilmIntuition) September 27, 2022
And then there’s the “well-dressed whores” line.
This outtake tells you a lot about where he's coming from. "Well-dressed whores"? Hmm. If you read Christina's full interview, you'll see that, without being rude or disrespectful, she never lets him off the hook. A model for all entertainment journalists. https://t.co/zVKhQVe3Cd
— Stephanie Zacharek (@szacharek) September 27, 2022
https://twitter.com/GwendolynKiste/status/1574848362012151809
Others couldn’t believe anyone would diss Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a very fine movie you can rent on places like Vudu and Amazon. (The image at the top, incidentally, is a recreation of the 1953 Technicolor noir Niagara, which currently streams on the Criterion Channel, but only through the end of the week.)
https://twitter.com/zdbarnes/status/1574803593105915906
I’m not exactly a huge Monroe guy, but Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is goddamn amazing, both for Monroe and Russell. That number that prefigures “Let’s Get Physical”? https://t.co/5yKNoxigU3 pic.twitter.com/u4qNOygvEu
— Cinema Strikes Back (@cinema_strikes) September 27, 2022
anyway watch gentlemen prefer blondes! https://t.co/IyMPBYG68e pic.twitter.com/Z32yUbgV2J
— abovemegan (@abovemegan) September 27, 2022
To some, Dominik only succeeded in dissuading people from watching his movie, even for free with a Netflix subscription.
https://twitter.com/bethanyrutter/status/1574836546074808346
And others thought Blonde was giving Don’t Worry Darling a run for its scandal money.
Andrew Dominik saw how badly the PR campaign for Don't Worry Darling's going and said "Hold my beer…" https://t.co/aN6ikLjrnD
— Michael Scally 🏳️🌈 🐀 (SAME USERNAME ELSEWHERE) (@FizzVsTheWorld) September 27, 2022
Blonde hits Netflix on Wednesday, September 28. You can read the full interview with Dominik at Sight and Sound.