'Blonde' : Critics Praise Ana de Armas' 'Uncanny' Marilyn Monroe Performance in 'Lurid, Horror Movie'

Ana de Armas delivers an "uncanny," "powerful" and "committed" performance as Marilyn Monroe in the divisive new movie Blonde, critics say.

Reviews for the new film launched Thursday after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, with the majority of film critics praising de Armas, 34, for her work as a fictionalized version of the Hollywood icon in the nearly three-hour movie.

Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson wrote that the actress is "fiercely, almost scarily committed to the role, maintaining high and focused energy through every torrent of tears and screams and traumas" and crafts a "vivid and frightening picture of the madness of fame."

She "carries the film squarely on her shoulders," according to Deadline's Damon Wise, describing her performance as "all-in, ferociously emotional but complex in its nuances as it explores the child-like sex symbol's many paradoxes."

Sophie Monks Kaufman wrote in an IndieWire review that de Armas' "uncanny resemblance to Marilyn takes the film a long way." David Rooney wrote for The Hollywood Reporter that her "raw" performance "strips the most examined woman in pop-culture history bare, literally and metaphorically."

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"But," added Rooney, "as [the movie] lurches on well past the 2-hour mark, spiraling deeper into nightmare, Blonde becomes a lurid horror movie, at times overwhelmingly unpleasant."

More critics were conflicted on the film's fictionalized portrayal of Monroe's story, calling out the explicit NC-17 choices. The film, directed by Andrew Dominik, is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' novel of the same name, which was also controversial when it was published back in 2000.

"De Armas's intense and ultimately persuasive performance goes a long way towards bringing the goddess down to earth, but will that be enough?" wrote The Guardian's Leslie Felperin, who later added, "Some viewers might feel that at times the film itself slips into an exploitativeness that is problematic."

Kaufman said Blonde "sets out to show a lifetime of victimization and exploitation," saying the character "is monotonously characterized as a victim" throughout. Empire's Catherine Bray said de Armas' "performance is powerful, but her wings feel clipped; there's only a limited sense across the hefty runtime that Monroe is evolving as a result of what she experiences."

Still, Variety's Owen Gleiberman said de Armas' performance is a standout: "No actress alive is going to look just like Monroe ... but with Marilyn the voice is everything — that's where her personality lives — and de Armas nails it to an uncanny degree. In Blonde, she gives us nothing less than what we came for. She becomes Marilyn Monroe."

Blonde is on Netflix Sept. 23.