The 2022 psychological thriller, Blonde, starring Ana de Armas has been the subject of much controversy and discussion over the past few months. With factions equally praising or criticizing the Andrew Dominik film, each party vocalizes the Cuban actress’s portrayal of the Hollywood icon as either a resounding performance or a tarnishing of Marilyn Monroe’s legacy. As the film now inches closer to its premiere on Netflix, Ana de Armas shares a heartfelt story from before the filming of Blonde.
The Exploitative Insight Into Marilyn Monroe’s Legacy
The crew of Blonde had set out to portray an unreal depiction of Monroe on the screen, not simply as the famous icon but as a deeply troubled persona whose story extended beyond what met the eye. They eventually succeeded in realizing that vision, but the extensive creative liberty that went into the making of the Andrew Dominik film came with its fair share of controversies.
Adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’ novel of the same name, Blonde ruthlessly breaks the barrier between the real and the imaginative in this candy-colored film. Although fictionalized, the film and its protagonist, Ana de Armas, inherently succeed in forming an impressionistic painting of how Monroe’s life actually felt like, rather than sticking to a biographical retelling of how it was. Consequently, the movie now accompanies an NC-17 rating with its downright exploitation of the provocative life of Hollywood icon, Marilyn Monroe.
Ana de Armas Reveals How She Started Filming Blonde
Before stepping into the shoes of the “Blonde Bombshell”, the cast and crew of the Netflix film had each signed on a card as a way of asking for the late actress’s permission. The film, the boldest and most incendiary one of all the Monroe films to date, doesn’t shy away from expressing the internalized anguish of the actress that ultimately led to her mysterious, tragic, and untimely end. Ana de Armas, who gives a stunning career-defining performance as Marilyn Monroe, relates:
“We got this big card and everyone in the crew wrote a message to her. Then we went to the cemetery and put it on her grave. We were asking for permission in a way. Everyone felt a huge responsibility, and we were very aware of the side of the story we were going to tell – the story of Norma Jeane, the person behind this character, Marilyn Monroe. Who was she really?”
With the film now widely receptive to positive responses, there still remains the issue of Ana de Armas’s accent which has remained a central focus of viewers throughout the promotional aspect of Blonde. However, the sensationalism emulated on-screen overshadows the cultural issue that proved divisive during the beginning of the film’s difficult journey. Besides, Ana de Armas, Blonde additionally features Adrien Brody as the playwright Arthur Miller, Bobby Cannavale as Joe DiMaggio, Julianne Nicholson as Gladys Pearl Baker, and Caspar Phillipson as John F. Kennedy.
Blonde premieres on Netflix on 28 September 2022.
Source: AnOther Magazine
