Nick Cave declares ‘Blonde’ as his favourite film of all time
Nick Cave has been closely associated with the world of cinema for many years now, having collaborated with pioneering filmmakers such as Wim Wenders. During one of his routine interactions on his personal blog called The Red Hand Files, one enthusiastic fan asked the music icon about his favourite film of all time.
On previous occasions, Cave has expressed his admiration for a wide variety of films worldwide. While talking about the films that have affected him the most, he once named Ted Kotcheff’s 1971 psychological thriller Wake in Fright as “the best and most terrifying film about Australia in existence”.
Surprisingly, the music legend considers a recent controversial release to be his top cinematic pick. While responding to the fan who asked the question, Cave simply said: “Blonde. Love, Nick.” Andrew Dominik’s fictionalised biography of Marilyn Monroe has divided fans, especially because some consider it a misogynistic depiction. It may come as little surprise that Cave and Warren Ellis worked on the score for the Netflix movie.
Cave has always been an ardent admirer of Dominik’s work, having worked on the film score for Dominik’s magnum opus, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. This year, Dominik also released his companion documentary about Nick Cave and Warren Ellis – This Much I Know to Be True – which is a follow-up to One More Time with Feeling.
When asked about the critical reception in an interview with Deadline, Dominik said: “Like anyone, she would make these stabs towards being in control of her life, but she clearly wasn’t in control of her life. Any person that’s killing themselves is not a figure of female empowerment. As much as we want to reinvent Marilyn Monroe as the female du jour, I don’t think that that’s responsible.”
According to Dominik, Marilyn Monroe’s story cannot be told without critiquing the patriarchal system that constantly subjugated her. Still, many critics noted that the filmmaker almost fetishised her lack of agency. The film has definitely become one of the most controversial releases of 2022, and it seems like its artistic credibility will only be properly evaluated by future generations.
Dominik also pointed out that this film happened due to the creative freedom offered by Netflix. He added: “The film would not exist without Netflix. Nobody else would pay for the thing except Netflix. They were the ones that were brave enough to take it on. But we’re in a time period that’s all over the place so naturally there were some anxieties.”
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