The film adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’s Blonde was pretty chaotic. It’s still chaotic. Ana de Armas was cast as Marilyn Monroe years ago and I think the production wrapped a while back. I heard rumors that the studio tried to bury this whole mess for a while, and that there were concerns about Ana’s accent (she had a Cuban accent) and her general ability to play such an iconic American figure like Marilyn. The script was reportedly a huge mess too because… well, I guess they didn’t read the actual book. Oates’s Blonde is depressing as hell and she really leaned into the fact that Marilyn had significant mental health issues, that she was deeply unhappy for much of her life, and that everyone treated her like sh-t. I think they did some extensive re-edits and now it’s rated NC-17 and it will stream on Netflix. Here’s the first trailer (it’s just a vague teaser).
What’s painful is that… again, the book leans into the downer parts of Marilyn’s life, how her life was not glamorous in the least, that she was used and abused. This shows her crying prettily and then the famous Seven Year Itch skirt moment. Whew, how bad is this film? It feels like it’s going to be pretty rough.
Head over to @netflixqueue to hear from BLONDE star Ana de Armas and director Andrew Dominik: https://t.co/47dogxKKj7 pic.twitter.com/83nYhpOtkN
— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) June 16, 2022
Photos courtesy of Netflix.
Good grief.
She looks more like Anna Nicole Smith than MM
I love the CNN documentary that was done on her that focused on the STRATEGIC way she moved through her life…how she harnassed her power & used it quite effectively…whether it was aligning herself with journalists to let everyone know what a disgusting meat factory Hollywood was to vulnerable performers…or how she went up against Studio heads forming her own production company & fighting for better wages & scripts….and how she built the blueprint for folks like the Kardashians to use publicity to hypnotize & garner more fans…That part of Marilyn is rarely talked about…unfortunately…I will actually wait to see the movie…to see what plays out on the screen…the last half of my life I have decided to be as open to new experiences as I possibly can…cause back in the day…my eyes would have been rolling so hard regarding this…they would have gotten stuck!😝
Wow, what an incredibly beautiful summation of her REAL impact and legacy. She was a feminist before the word.
Interesting. This reminded me of the way Princess Diana was often described by those who knew whole intimately.
I love this comment! So true! She isn’t given enough credit for how intelligent and calculated she was. Yes, she was troubled and abused, but she wasn’t just a damaged victim, she played the cards she was dealt very well when she was able
“Yes, she was troubled and abused, but she wasn’t just a damaged victim, she played the cards she was dealt very well when she was able.” Well said. No matter how liberal a person may be, there’s still a bit of an unlearning process that has to happen with how we deal with/discuss those kinds of trauma and mental health situations when we’re talking about people who aren’t male and straight/cis.
It terms of looks i think its one of the closest to the real Monroe i have ever seen. It will be interesting to hear if they did infact keep her thick Cuban accent.
Noki, I agree. And a Cuban actress playing MM – whom JFK slept with – is ironic to me. He was president during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It’s all connected!
I agree. I’m actually a little more interested in this after seeing the teaser. I’ll watch it. Better this than Nicole Kidman’s Lucy drivel.
To me she doesn’t really look like her, just like someone styled like Marilyn. But she does look great.
Pretty close! I wish they had mimicked Marilyn’s eyebrows, though. Would have been a simple and visually impactful fix.
I also feel like biopics do poorly when they try to recreate an iconic image. We all know exactly what that image looks like — why not show it from another angle, or focus on shots just before and after.
I have no opinion on the movie. I just wanted to say Marilyn was much more than her sex pot image and her emotional problems. First of all, she was a hell of lot smarter than people give her credit for. She was a voracious reader and read a lot of heavy material. She was a civil rights advocate. And that dumb blond act was just that, an act that she could turn off and on. Truman Capote was a good friend and wrote lovingly about her. I remember reading something from an old friend talking about a time when they were hanging out. She was surprised that she was with THE Marilyn Monroe and no one was paying attention. So Marilyn said “Do you want to see me become her?” Then she switched on “Marilyn” and suddenly everyone noticed her.
I find her so fascinating.
I think it looks good. The trailer captures exactly what Snuffles comments on above — she’s begging “her” to come, meaning the Marilyn mystique. Then at the end of the trailer she flips the switch and becomes capital-M Marilyn. I think it looks like they captured her persona and what is behind it well. We’ll see, I guess.
She was incredibly smart- people don’t talk about that enough. She also was a terrific actress although between her struggles with mental health and her use of pills, it eventually led her to be wildly unreliable on set.
@Snuffles, if you haven’t read it, Truman Capote’s book of short stories, Music for Chameleons has a beautiful tribute to her. His words are heartbreaking. I read it at least once a year.
@driver8
I have read Music for Chameleons! I used to have a well worn copy of it. Truman is my favorite writer of all time.
I, too, have read it and Capote is also one of my favorite authors! I still remember how he described her as looking like a 12 year old child without all that makeup on and yes, I can totally see that. A young, vulnerable girl.
I hope Ana did a lot of accent work because if she could nail that, this could be decent. I liked her as an actress (before the Benana madness) and keep wanting her to redeem herself.
I believe this was filmed in 2019. Even before the Bond film she did that was postponed 4 times and deep water. The director is a very well respected auteur
and people had high hopes for it for Oscar’s because of him but it turned out way too outrageous a film for Netflix of all places to have backed it.
Between her dress and this film, why are we doing Marilyn so bad this month
That dress debacle isn’t the fault of the filmmaker. That’s Kim and Ripley’s fault.
I still think we are blaming Kim far more than Ripleys.
They are the custodians, not her
I think of it in terms of the ethics of my field – we don’t break confidentiality, but we also don’t ask questions that push other practitioners to break confidentiality (even though it is technically their sole responsibility not to breach). So with that said…while it’s Ripley’s dress to protect, Kim should have had the respect not to ask.
They did a good job with make up and resembling her, she’s the closest I’ve seen to looking like Marilyn. As for the trailer, the crying pretty and the 7 Year Itch scene is fine. I don’t think they rep the entire film. Whew…De Armes is just beautiful isn’t she?
I agree! She looks so much like her, she seems to have captured her essence. De Armas is breathtakingly gorgeous. As was Marilyn.
Decades ago…when I read Shelly Winter’s autobio where she wrote about Marilyn as they were roommates & BFF…that’s when I started REALLY learning about who she was beyond the pre-packaged persona that was pushed…and as SOON as I saw what she was doing by going to NYC…and working with the Actors studio…and how she sought out intelligent folks and took her self learning SERIOUS along with the dedication to her craft…I started to see that we didn’t just lose the most GLORIOUS star…seriously…I STILL haven’t seen a performer with a love affair with a camera like SHE HAD…I saw we lost a DAMN GOOD ACTOR…and I mourn the parts she wasn’t able to bring to life as she matured…
Tony Curtis came out with a book (with Mark A. Viera) in 2009 titled “Some Like It Hot – My Memories of Marilyn Monroe and the Classic American Movie.” He had previously talked about her in his autobiography – they knew each other and were briefly involved very early in both of their careers. Some Like It Hot came out in 1959, so a couple of years before The Misfits, and she died not long after that (1963).
Curtis talks about her with great understanding and compassion, but by that point Marilyn was already on a downhill slide and extremely difficult to work with. It’s a small miracle the movie was made and she wasn’t fired along the way, but her magnetism on screen, when they were able to get completed takes, was such that it was, ultimately, worth it.
What’s especially interesting in the book are many quotes from director Billy Wilder about Marilyn, including his negative view of the Strasbergs and the impact they had on her and what he felt had been her natural gifts as an actress. By that point, Paula was always on set as Marilyn’s acting coach and confidante. (I’ve read elsewhere there was some feeling by that time that the Strasbergs had latched onto Marilyn primarily as a way to up their own profile, and weren’t working in her best interests.). It’s an interesting read overall…
It’s probably a great time to talk to Ripley’s. Might not even need a white coat.
I wish someone would make a movie about how Marilyn took singing and acting lessons (I remember a studio boss saying that she was in elocution, riding lessons and all kinds of training all day long, worked harder than anyone), how she developed her “marilyn persona”, about how she decided to dye her hair and get the plastic surgery, about her determination and all that. We`ve all seen the tragic orphan sexpot thing too many times. I want the story of the talent, smarts, and brains of that woman. Because her talent and skill is what made her the star. She was a wonderful actress and singer.
I don’t love this. It looks like another movie where the audience gets off (sorry) on a beautiful woman’s pain, pretending it’s humanizing her. But like others have said, Marilyn was also smart and well read and savvy and kind. Will we see any of that? Or will it just be a parade of nudity and tears??
It’s a male director, I think we all know the answer…
Yep. They couldn’t honor JCO take with a woman director? To cover an iconic woman who was seen through male gaze her entire career?
What I don’t ever see captured was what made MM so compelling, which was her fragility and openness and vulnerability on top of what was tremendous talent and beauty and burning ambition.
IDK from that one clip this reminds me of Lyndsay Lohan playing Elizabeth Taylor. Slap on a wig and read some lines. But who knows? I’ll probably watch.
No matter what Ana de Arnas does in this film, it’s going to be an absolute trainwreck. You can barely see her!
Ana de armas definitely has something about her. I think she looks stunning as Marilyn. Not many actresses can pull off playing Marilyn because they just can’t match her lever of star power and charisma. Putting on a blond wig and red lipstick isn’t enough for an actress to play her. But I think ana has a good shot.
Kind of like trying to portray Elvis or as we’ve recently seen, Lucy. Icons are inimitable. That’s why they’re icons.
Yes, her look is very good, but I think her face is a bit long. But very nicely done.
Nope. That actress is pretty but she hasn’t managed to replicate Marilyn’s exceptional radiance.
She looks fine. Nobody can really emulate Marilyn in terms of aura or appearance and that’s okay too – that’s why she’s so iconic.
As others state, I too hope this is not just a “beautiful broken woman” portrayal, so we’ll see.
It looks good! I think people get too hung up on resemblance. It’s impossible for an actor to look like a carbon copy of anyone.
Marilyn was a an ambitious, driven, determined woman. Her beginning to her end was not person who was used and abused. I can’t stand the damaged damsel in distress narrative.
And sense of humour! She was so witty, smart and sharp and yet we only see the victim. In a way, she was a victim of course but there is so much more of her to explore, if you really want to. Oates’ book was all doom and gloom and really really depressing read.
The script for this movie is beyond bizarre at best, it doesn’t flow whatsoever. Between that and at least one instance sexual assault, the literal talking fetus and the fact that that it has Marilyn partially or fully naked for at least a quarter of the script/movie, it’s a hard pass from me. There is nothing remotely feminist or powerful about it and the director’s comments are even more off putting.
Say what? Talking fetus? 25% of time spent with protagonist fully or partially nude? Guess I’ll be renting Some Like It Hot DVD from Netflix rather than watch this. Ugh.
Some women have broken pickers when it comes to men. Ana has a broken script picker.
Ana is beautiful but no she does not capture Marilyn, she looks too much like a child. Not sexy or powerful. I am also tired of the portrayal of Marilyn as a vistim, she was more than that, way more. I will watch it just because I am a Marilyn fan and want to check this out but it does not look good.