Rosario Monachino
Blonde, the Marilyn Monroe biopic starring Ana de Armas, is now streaming on Netflix.
The film is described as a ‘fictional portrait’ that ‘boldly reimagines the tumultuous private life of the Hollywood legend — and the price she paid for fame’.
Blonde is the first Netflix-produced film to earn an NC-17 rating (18 rating in the UK).
The much-talked-about movie is based on Joyce Carol Oates’s Pulitzer-nominated novel and controversially depicts some of the most traumatic moments of her life.
Watch the official trailer for Blonde below…
Many critics have praised de Armas for her portrayal of Monroe ahead of the film’s release.
Justin Chang from The Los Angeles Times writes: “She steps into pitch-perfect re-creations of vintage Monroe photographs, sometimes fixing us with a half-pleading, half-conspiratorial smile.
“She does a sustained approximation of Monroe’s breathily seductive voice, sometimes with unmistakable traces of her own Cuban-Spanish accent — a flaw that’s earned some criticism but, if anything, strengthens the movie’s notion of Monroe as a construct, a gorgeous mask that keeps slipping.”
Mark Kermode describes her performance as ‘simply extraordinary’.
In his column for The Guardian, he says: “Ana de Armas is simply extraordinary as Norma Jeane Baker, an aspiring performer for whom the spectre of Marilyn Monroe is an assumed identity – a portal to stardom.”
Meanwhile, Christy Lermine goes as far as calling her ‘captivating’ and says ‘she gives it her all’ in their review of Blonde on Roger Ebert.
Despite the praise for de Armas, the film itself seems to be divisive with critics as some are saying it is ‘brutal’ to watch.
Rafa Sales Ross said in their article for the BBC: “Blonde is less preoccupied with building a faithful portrayal of the real-life figure than translating the brutal ruthlessness of celebrity.”
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Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times summarised Blonde as: “Overwrought, overlong ‘Blonde’ depicts Marilyn Monroe’s life as a joyless nightmare.”
The New Yorker compared the film to The Passion Of Christ, a film that violently depicted the story of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Alongside de Armas, the film also stars Bobby Cannavale and Adrien Brody as Monroe’s ex-husbands Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, respectively.
The film has been in development since 2010, with director Andrew Dominik (Killing Them Softly) being attached since the very beginning.
Before de Armas signed up for the role, other actresses such as Jessica Chastain and Naomi Watts had agreed to play Monroe.
Marilyn Monroe & Ana De Armas uncanny resemblance in Blonde (2022) ?❤️
Looking forward to watching this movie.
23rd September save the date! pic.twitter.com/NbjsHBAWe7— E.Ç. (@e_ckmk) June 17, 2022
However, the No Time To Die star joined the project in 2019.
Blonde entered production that same year but the shooting was delayed and it eventually wrapped in July 2021.
The film has also gained a lot of attention for being the first Netflix-produced film to earn an NC-17 rating (18 rating in the UK).
The first images of de Armas as Monroe were met with a reaction on social media as fans praised how much she looked like the actress, with one fan writing: “Marilyn Monroe and Ana de Armas uncanny resemblance in Blonde. Looking forward to watching this movie.”
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Speaking to Grazia, the Cuban actress described playing the famous movie star as ‘exhausting’.
She elaborated: “It felt incredible, it felt… also very exhausting. It was a lot of hard work to play her in what I think was a really honest way of portraying her.
“Her life was not simple, because you really have to go deep into that period and what happened to her and her story and who she was, and maybe you know some of her story, but it was very intense.”
Blonde is available on Netflix now.
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