Described by filmmaker Andrew Dominik as "a movie for all the unloved children of the world," Blonde explores the real story behind Marilyn Monroe's family life.
In this Netflix portrayal, directed by Dominik and embodied by Ana de Armas, Monroe's character is shaped by "mistaken childhood beliefs and trauma," according to the director. Adapted from Joyce Carol Oates's 2000 Pulitzer Prize–shortlisted novel, Blonde delves into the early life of Norma Jeane Baker (played by Lily Fisher).
At the onset of the film, a seven-year-old Norma Jeane faces torment from her alcoholic and mentally unstable mother, Gladys (Julianne Nicholson). The depiction includes direct threats to Norma's life, such as nearly drowning her in a bathtub and driving her toward the 1933 Griffith Park fire.
Regarding her father, Gladys tells Monroe that he is a Hollywood power player (meeting him while working as an RKO film cutter), promising a future rescue from poverty. Throughout the film, Monroe grapples with the absence of a father figure (referring to both her husbands as "Daddy") and the omnipresence of her subconscious mother.
In reality, Monroe was placed in foster care in Hawthorne, California, just two weeks after birth, with Gladys making frequent visits and occasional sleepovers. At three years old, Gladys attempted to break into the foster home, placing Monroe in a duffel bag and briefly locking out the foster mother. By age seven, Monroe returned to her mother's care, but, as portrayed in Blonde, Gladys faced institutionalization for paranoid schizophrenia shortly afterward.
Monroe's childhood unfolded in various orphanages and foster homes, marked by alleged instances of sexual abuse and emotional turmoil. A pivotal turn occurred at age 11 when she moved in with family friend Grace McKee Goddard. Monroe acknowledged the profound impact of "Aunt Grace" in her posthumously published memoir, My Story, stating, "If not for Grace, I would have been sent to a state or country institution."
Her turbulent journey continued with nine different families before reaching legal adulthood at sixteen through marriage to James Dougherty, the 21-year-old son of a former neighbor. The marriage, chosen over returning to the orphanage, lasted from 1942 to 1946.
Blonde peels back the layers of Monroe's troubled upbringing, unveiling the complex dynamics that molded the iconic Hollywood star.
