Blonde Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs
Andrew Dominik's Marilyn Monroe "biopic" is tailor-made to divide.
One of the most anticipated non-blockbuster films of the year is finally upon us - Andrew Dominik's Blonde, a fictionalised biopic of Marilyn Monroe that the filmmaker has been trying to get made for over a decade.
Dominik's bold, uncompromising adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' 2000 novel is, predictably, going to polarise audiences, just as it has critics ever since its recent premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
From the outset, it's worth confirming that anyone craving a more down-the-line Monroe biopic would be advised to stick with the Michelle Williams-starring 2011 film My Week with Marilyn, because Dominik evidently has no interest in making that sort of movie.
Blonde is a challenging piece of work that's been dubbed both a masterpiece and offensive trash with equal enthusiasm.
As is usually the case, neither of the most passionate camps are quite on the money - it's neither as expertly crafted as you might hope, nor as Controversial as you've heard.
It's an interesting movie that gets more right than it doesn't, and will service adventurous, open-minded audiences while turning off those in the market for something more conventional.
But with that in mind, here's what Dominik doesn't get right...