The 'Blade Runner 2049' star is almost unrecognizable as she turns into the 1950s silver-screen icon in the fictionalized take on the life of the late actress.
- Jun 17, 2022
AceShowbiz - It's Ana de Armas' turn to shine in Netflix's upcoming movie "Blonde". The "Knives Out" star looks almost unrecognizable as she portrays Marilyn Monroe in the latest biopic about the late silver-screen icon.
Presented in black-and-white, the first teaser of the movie highlights Marilyn's duality as she's seen as a frail artist who struggles to overcome her anxiety when coming under the spotlight. "Please come. Don't abandon me," she prays as a makeup artist wipes away her tears and attempts to finish her eyeliner. "She's coming," he assures her.
The scene then switches to show Armas' Marilyn in her iconic flying skirt moment as cameras flash to capture it. Set to a melancholy version of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", the trailer also sees the star in distress when she's swarmed by fans and photographers during another public appearance.
The scene then switches back to Marilyn in her dressing room. "She's coming," her makeup artist continues to say. "She's almost here." She later seems to gain her composure as she sees her reflection who smiles brightly in the mirror.
From director Andrew Dominik and based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Carol Oates, "Blonde" boldly reimagines the complicated life of icon Marilyn Monroe. Blurring the lines of fact and fiction, the film artfully explores the tension between her public and private life. It also stars Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel and Evan Williams.
"I read Joyce's novel, studied hundreds of photographs, videos, audio recordings, films - anything I could get my hands on," de Armas recently shared in an interview with Netflix's Queue. "Every scene is inspired by an existing photograph. We'd pore over every detail in the photo and debate what was happening in it. The first question was always, 'What was Norma Jeane feeling here?' We wanted to tell the human side of her story. Fame is what made Marilyn the most visible person in the world, but it also made Norma the most invisible."
She added of the director's vision for the movie, "Andrew's ambitions were very clear from the start - to present a version of Marilyn Monroe’s life through her lens. 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."
Rated NC-17, "Blonde" will start streaming on Netflix on September 23.
