Blonde, Netflix's upcoming adult-only Marilyn Monroe movie, is the latest Hollywood biopic to finally grace us on the streaming service after weeks of first-look pics and a trailer!
The film comes as yet another addition to the slew of celebrity screen adaptations to hit our screen, following in the footsteps of Hulu's Pam and Tommy and, of course, right before the forthcoming Madonna film that we're all at the edge of our seats for.
The new feature reimagines the life of Ms Monroe and is being touted as Netflix's first-ever adult-only movie. But what exactly does that entail? Well, for starters, it includes some pretty graphic sex scenes hence the 18+ rating, though we can also expect some controversial topics to be explored in the film's plot, according to early viewers.
Ana de Armas stars as Marilyn Monroe in the streaming service's first 18+ rated film.
Here's everything you need to know about Blonde…
Who has been cast in Blonde?
Netflix has pulled together a star-studded cast for this one, meaning our expectations were high from the get-go.
Cuban actor Ana De Armas plays Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. James Bond fans will know Armas from the final Bond film, No Time To Die, but she has also appeared in several other Hollywood blockbusters, including Knives Out and Blade Runner. She most recently also starred alongside Ben Affleck in the Amazon Prime film, Deep Water.
Armas is joined by Bobby Cannavale and Adrien Brody — who play the Hollywood sweetheart’s second and third husbands. Brody plays the playwright Arthur Miller. Meanwhile, Mare of Easttown star Julianne Nicholson plays Monroe's mother. Xavier Samuel and Evan Williams also star.
What is Blonde about?
The film is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ book, Blonde – a fictionalised historical novel chronicling Marilyn Monroe's life. Delving into the nitty-gritty of everything surrounding the icon and her personal life, the book covers her marriages, affairs, and the theory of her suspected murder.
However, rather than being an exact retelling of her life, Oates' book is considered a reimagining, with added creativity and fantasy thrown in the mix, so the same is expected from Netflix's adaptation.
Created by writer and director Andrew Dominik, Netflix enlisted 12 Years a Slave and Moonlight producers Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner for the project, too, as well as Brad Pitt, who co-produced it.
Ana previously opened up about her hopes for Blonde in an interview with Netflix’s Queue: "[Director] Andrew’s ambitions were very clear from the start – to present a version of Marilyn Monroe’s life through her lens,” she said.
“He wanted the world to experience what it actually felt like to not only be Marilyn, but also Norma Jeane. I found that to be the most daring, unapologetic and feminist take on her story that I had ever seen.”
Blonde looks at how trauma plays out when it's experienced in the public eye as Marilyn grapples with her identity.
“She’s deeply traumatised, and that trauma necessitates a split between a public self and a private self, which is the story of everyone, but with a famous person, that often plays out publicly, in ways that may cause additional trauma,” Dominik told Queue.
“The film’s very much concerned with the relationship with herself and with this other persona, Marilyn, which is both her armour and the thing that is threatening to consume her."
Here is a selection of Blonde's new film stills:
Blonde in pictures
What happens in the new Blonde trailer?
We see Ana's Marilyn talk about her relationship with her “Marilyn Monroe” ego, explaining that she is still her real self – her original name was Norma Jeane – even when on screen.
“I can't face doing another scene with Marilyn Monroe,” she says. “Marilyn Monroe doesn't exist… Marilyn Monroe only exists on the screen.” There's a whole load of an identity crisis going on, as well as a message about the dark side of fame.
There's a whole load of gorgeous, iconic fashion, as well as a whirlwind of black and white nostalgia. A crazy mix of chilling foreboding, and eye-popping style.
What did the first teaser for Blonde tell us?
The entire minute-long video is pretty haunting, to be honest. A rendition of Monroe's ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend' plays throughout, and we see Ana's Marilyn pleading with someone to come back to her. Her make-up artist reassures her that “she's coming”.
It seems clear that “she” is Marilyn, or the persona she offered to the world. Chilling.
We also see snippets of the iconic white dress scene above a subway grate, as well as scenes that depict Marilyn's struggles with mental health and harassment by the press. Heavy stuff.
What are critics saying about the film?
The film opened up at Venice Film Festival to mixed reviews from critics.
USA Today writes: “Although there are insightful moments and surreal bits that pop, it’s overall a bizarre – and at nearly three hours, bloated – film that attempts to honour its subject and instead lets her down.” Meanwhile, The Daily Beast says: “Led by de Armas’ hypnotically soulful evocation of Monroe’s longing and despair, it’s a triumph that strives for truth through florid, glamorous artifice.”
The themes in the film have also lent themselves to backlash. Critics referenced disturbing scenes where a foetus talks to Marilyn from her uterus before miscarrying.
Critics have stated that this may “turn off audiences”, but it also could re-ignite conversations around anti-abortion, as well as unnecessarily trigger people who may have had miscarriages themselves.
When is the release date for Blonde?
Blonde hits Netflix on Wednesday, 28 September, following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival. A suitably glamorous launch.
Why does Blonde have an 18+ rating?
Andrew touched on the film's adult rating in his interview with Vulture, admitting he was surprised in the first instance – but that the story could be interpreted in different ways, and there may be scenes that offend. “It’s not like depictions of happy sexuality. It’s depictions of situations that are ambiguous,” he said.
“On the one hand, I think if I’m given the choice, I’d rather go and see the NC-17 [18+] version of the Marilyn Monroe story. Because we know that her life was on the edge, clearly, from the way it ended. Do you want to see the warts-and-all version, or do you want to see that sanitised version?
“It’s a film that definitely has a morality about it. But it swims in very ambiguous waters because I don’t think it will be as cut-and-dried as people want to see it. There’s something in it to offend everyone.”
Ana also added to her surprise over the film's rating, stating: “I didn’t understand why that happened." She added to L’Officiel: "I can tell you a number of shows or movies that are way more explicit with a lot more sexual content than ‘Blonde.’ But to tell this story, it is important to show all these moments in Marilyn’s life that made her end up the way that she did. It needed to be explained. Everyone [in the cast] knew we had to go to uncomfortable places. I wasn’t the only one.”
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