Actor Adrien Brody jumped to the defense of Netflix’s NSFW film “Blonde,” his latest on-screen venture after initial reviews were nothing but disappointing.
The release of the Andrew Dominik-directed drama, which is rated as a rare and stunning NC-17, has proved controversial as many criticized the film for its portrayal of the late Marilyn Monroe.
Brody, who plays Monroe’s third husband, Arthur Miller, in the film, shook off the criticism, instead calling Dominik “beautifully brave” for handling the film the way he did.
“I think since it’s told in this first-person perspective, it somehow works for the movie to be a traumatic experience,” Brody told The Hollywood Reporter. “Because you’re inside her — her journey and her desires and her isolation — in the midst of all this admiration.”
“It’s brave and it takes a while to digest,” continued Brody, 49. “And I think it goes against the public’s perception of what her life is.”
He continued: “And I think that’s where the film triumphs, because – whether it’s an extreme portrayal or not – it honors the extreme gap between the public’s perception of fame and the glory of the most famous, iconic actor. of Hollywood, and the reality of that individual—the loneliness and emptiness and mental turmoil and abuse of that individual.”
“It’s fearless filmmaking,” concluded the Oscar winner.
Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ 2000 novel of the same name, the film also features Ana de Armas, Bobby Cannavale, Xavier Samuel, Toby Huss, and Julianne Nicholson.
De Armas, who plays Monroe, was so determined to depict the screen icon’s life story as accurately as possible that she visited Monroe’s gravesite in Los Angeles to ask for her permission.
Dominik, 54, previously said he knew he found his Monroe when De Armas walked into the casting room.
“It was like love at first sight,” said Dominik during the premiere in Venice. “When the right person walks through the door, you know it.”
The Post’s two-star review of the film describes the film as “hollow” and says the film is “one brutally awful moment after another.”