Warning: This article contains potentially distressing discussions of abuse, including sexual abuse and violence against children.

Contains SPOILERS for BlondeWhile it was something of a surprise to see that Netflix’s Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde gained an NC-17 rating, the movie’s release proves that the Ana de Armas vehicle more than earned the infamous rating. Director Andrew Dominik’s Blonde is earning divisive reviews and prompting a lot of online debate over the line between sensationalism and sincerity. A sweeping, three-hour epic that chronicles the life of Marilyn Monroe, Blonde is an adaptation of the Joyce Carol Oates controversial novel of the same name.

Like the source novel, Blonde does not shy away from the darker aspects of Marilyn Monroe’s tragically short life. That said, viewers expecting titillation might be surprised by the (comparative) lack of explicit sex scenes, given Blonde’s NC-17 rating. Rarely received by mainstream movies, the NC-17 rating is an American MPAA rating that states no viewers under the age of 17 will be permitted to view the work. While this may not sound too serious, the NC-17 rating is rarely earned by major studio releases and generally prompts studios to resubmit the movie with edits.

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However, the creators of the Marilyn Monroe biopic controversially opted to keep the NC-17 rating and avoid any edits to preserve the movie’s story. This became a big point of controversy in the lead-up to Blonde’s release, and now that the movie has arrived on Netflix, it is clear that Blonde more than earned its NC-17 rating. While nowhere near as violent as many mainstream movies and not as explicitly sexual as some viewers might anticipate (although the movie does feature a lot of nudity), Blonde is intense, dark, and persistent enough in its suffocating depiction of sexual exploitation to warrant the prohibitive adults-only ratings. In order to do these heavy themes justice, the oft-discussed rating is certainly well-earned.

Why Blonde's NC-17 Rating Is So Controversial

Blonde Ana de armas marilyn Monroe

The NC-17 rating has been controversial since its inception, as many mainstream movie theaters refuse to screen movies that are landed with the dreaded rating. Some surprising mainstream releases such as the Bret Easton Ellis adaptation American Psycho, Braveheart, and even director Wes Craven’s seminal teen slasher Scream were originally handed the rating before cuts earned these titles a more accessible R rating. However, most of the movies that earn NC-17 ratings are art house movies and foreign releases whose explicit content means they were always likely to cause controversy, as was the case with Bad Lieutenant, Shame, The Dreamers, Nymphomaniac, and Lust, Caution. Given this company, the award of the rating to a movie such as Blonde is perhaps surprising.

Why Blonde Justifies Its NC-17 Rating

Ana de Armas as Marilyn recreating a movie scene in Blonde.

Blonde falls in between the two camps outlined above. On the one hand, the Marilyn Monroe biopic is a mainstream movie starring a major A-lister with Academy Award aspirations. On the other hand, Blonde comes from mercurial helmer Andrew Dominik and everything from its three-hour runtime to its complicated relationship with reality (Blonde is based on the Joyce Carol Oates novel, which in turn took inspiration from Marilyn Monroe’s real life, meaning it is pointedly not a traditional biopic) marks the movie out as an alternative, art-y title. However, regardless of Blonde’s counter-cultural bonafides, the movie’s content certainly justifies its NC-17 rating.

Blonde opens with a lengthy, chilling scene of a young Monroe’s mother attempting to drown her daughter in a bathtub. Later, Blonde includes an upsetting scene of Marilyn being orally raped by John F Kennedy while under the influence (shot mostly from the president’s POV) as well as rape at the hands of a movie producer. Monroe’s abortion is shot from an experimental POV that positions the camera in her cervix as the procedure is performed, and this cold, clinical approach follows through to Blonde’s depiction of Monroe’s eventual suicide by overdose. Although it is up to individual viewers whether Blonde’s depictions of Monroe’s traumas are handled responsibly or tactfully, what is clear is that the movie’s adults-only rating is more than justified.

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Blonde depicts Monroe as a victim of abuse from her mother, her husband, the President of the United States, and numerous romantic partners. While this abuse isn’t always dwelled upon, it is a constant presence in Blonde and makes the biopic a brutally dark, difficult watch. Where even the grittiest movie's spectacular gore and over-the-top shocks can remind viewers that they are watching a movie, Blonde’s decision to constantly play down the star's traumas as they are repeatedly, relentlessly enacted on an innocent lead character makes the movie disquietingly effective, and all the more unsuitable for younger viewers.