In her brief but blazing career, Marilyn Monroe became an icon of beauty and stardom on the silver screen. To try and recreate any of her most memorable moments would be intimidating, but that’s exactly what director Andrew Dominik and star Ana de Armas have done with their upcoming movie for Netflix, Blonde. Our first look at those efforts has recently been revealed, and the resemblance is even more uncanny, as well as heartbreaking.
Based on the novel of the same name by author Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde is a story that promises to show Marilyn Monroe’s private and public personas throughout her entire life. That makes it only natural for the first footage from Netflix to include events like Monroe’s dress flutter from The Seven Year Itch, as well as using “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as the soundtrack.
What bookends those moments in the spotlight is where the tragedy of Blonde comes into play. As we see Ana de Armas start the trailer weeping, praying for someone not to abandon her, we realize it’s Marilyn praying for her public persona to come out. By the end of what we’ve seen, the Marilyn Monroe the world has seen in photos and movies has arrived. While it’s familiar, it’s also a bit unsettling; which is absolutely by design.
Joyce Carol Oates has confirmed as much, as what we know about Blonde includes her rave on the film’s “utterly feminist” early cut. It certainly doesn’t feel like much will have changed in Andrew Dominik’s film, as his passion project is also the first NC-17 rated film for Netflix. Knowing his passion for the project, it’s not hard to see why he’s fiercely defended Blonde carrying a rating that’s typically been known to crush a movie’s chances.
Marilyn Monroe’s status as a sex symbol in pop culture will obviously be dissected in this film, but as Andrew Dominik has previously said Blonde will show both sides of Marilyn’s life in that regard. Through the lens of a traumatic childhood, her rise to fame and untimely demise will be shown in a more personal context. While we only know so much about what to expect, this trailer promises that beauty and tragedy will be sharing the screen throughout.
Blonde is set to debut on September 23rd, as part of the 2022 Netflix movies schedule heading our way this year. That's not the only Ana de Armas film coming soon to the streaming platform, as she's also in the star studded cast for The Gray Man. The espionage thriller opens in theaters on July 15th, with a Netflix streaming debut of July 22nd.
