Kelsey Van Ert

I give this film 2 stars because it’s visually striking. I understand that this film was not intended to be a true biopic. However does that mean that the characters should be flat and 2 dimensional? Marilyn Manroe is portrayed as if she were a tragic victim who never experienced an ounce of authentic joy in her life. All of the men in the movie are completely villainous monsters. It follows every cliche “hot woman with daddy issues” trope in the book. The cinematic flare is over done as if it were shot and edited by a film student who was trying to include every technique they learned that semester. Although this is based off of a fictional book about Manroe, written by Joyce Carol Oates, The director and screenwriter, Andrew Dominik, is a man (which explains a lot… perhaps it explains why she talks like a 1950’s playboy bunny waiting tables and never deviated to her real personality even when she clocks out of work at the club. Also her breasts were all over the screen every 30 seconds) . When the credits rolled at the end that left me thinking “what happened to her dog?” , the credits rolled and revealed that this was produced by Brad Pitt…. The whole film was artistically …. Not good. It somehow I watched the whole 3 hrs because the whole thing was just so bizarre. Also, I have an attention span for strange cult films. This one feels like it may be a cult classic in 20 yrs. Marilyn deserves a better film about her life that portrays her as a well rounded human being.

I think this show is cute. I enjoyed watching it. However, I think it paints this country in a light that is simply untrue. Although it is fiction, and fiction is aloud to take creative liberties, I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a lie. A lie that was fun to watch. A lie that I wish were true. Our country just is not that progressive. For example, Halle Berry was the first African American actress to win an Academy Award for Best Lead Actress. That did not happen until 2002. However, I do commend Netflix for pushing narratives and producing content with a diverse cast. I also was uncomfortable when the agent, who was basically a sexual predator, was rewarded in the end.