Movie Preview: Ana De Armas plays Marilyn Monroe in Netflix's 'Blonde'
- By Shargeel Sheikh -
- May 17, 2022
“There’s something in it to offend everyone”, filmmaker Andrew Dominik neatly spills some beans about his much-awaited movie Blonde starring the revered Cuban actress and the most recent “Bond Girl” Ana De Armas.
The Marilyn Monroe biopic has been doted as the Netflix’s sweetheart, a cash cow project the OTT platform is expecting to rake high bucks from, especially after the recent turbulations it had faced in the stock markets with share prices plummeting an all-time low. Blonde is that controversial star child currently being meticulously prepared for the final touch.
But what is so special about this movie? It had me thinking until I found out that it is based on arguably the most peculiar, yet successful personality Hollywood has ever made: Marilyn Monroe.
The woman who became the biggest symbol of enigmatic beauty in Hollywood during the 1950s, the one who defined originality and aesthetics, the dramatic eye candy of every director, every producer, every writer of that time. The woman who gave definition of blonde because she herself was a blonde girl. Marlyn Monroe is perhaps a character most deserving to be penned and produced into a biopic movie.
To narrate the life of a sensation, Andrew Dominik knew he had to grasp the hand of someone crucially talented, someone who would offer the swaying expressions Marlyn herself would flirt with, someone with a potential of becoming a sensation herself. And that’s why Ana de Armas was brought into this project. Her fierce and playful character are eminent and undeniable, thus making her perfect for the lead role.
From starring in “No Time to Die” to “Knock Knock”, It did not take long for Dominik to sense the fecundity of Ama. Despite all this, Ama’s journey of gaining command over English is exceptional and commendable. She has acted in films when she wasn’t fluent in English, yet she played seamlessly.
Her facial movement and expressions indicated that she has what it takes to make Marilyn Monroe breath again on the screens.
The concept of Blonde was first conceived in 2010 and is now nearing to become a projecting reality. Such a concept is brave and risky. It would be controversial and has the potential to incite start criticism keeping the protagonist’s esoteric lifestyle. Surprisingly, these are the exact reasons Andrew Dominik decided to pursue this into making.
Dominik is an avid lover of Novel based crime thrillers. He is an adept in narrating serious dark movies that are dedicated in making the audience realize about something concerning all while keeping them cliched to the plot and to the screens. His command over the lens is flawless.
Dominik likes making films on real people- or at least on those who seem similar to. His directed moves “Chopper” and “Kill them Softly” speak proudly of the magic he possesses behind the lens as well as the script. He has the utter confidence in making this movie come to life in the most vivid way. He has his team; he has his script- and he has Ama.
Behind every film there’s a powerful plot, behind which is often, a well penned novel. Great Novels have inspired great filmmakers and Andrew Domini’s blonde is no exception. The movie is being perceived as an adaptation from a 1999 historical novel by an American author Joyce Carol Oates.
After grasping the core idea, Dominik has carefully curated the literature and has masterfully turned it into what he and Netflix both believe is a table turner.
Maylyn was an exciting figure. The one who was on top of Hollywood in its heydays. However, her personal life took the most malignant brunt of it. Depriving her of her mental and physical health and leaving her as a prime subject of scandals and miscreants of all sorts.
All that glitter was not gold and Marlyn had discovered it the hard way.
The director and the novelist both sympathize with Marlyn and her tragic life. And they both tried to bring Marlyn breath another one through their crafts. Joyce through her perfumed penned pages and Andrew about to, with his film.
Through Blonde, the producer wants the viewers to explore the world of Marlyn with her reliving it. The director wants the Adience to get closer to her, feel her pain, understand her, and smile with her. At the end, it should be the Marlynn Monroe and her delusionary glamourous life successfully expressed with in the most honest element of verisimilitude.
Blonde is set to be released as Netflix first ever “adult-only” film. Now given what you’re thinking, there have been movies before which should have been labeled as “adult-only” also but weren’t for unknown reasons. But Blonde is what would be called “seriously adult” or “strictly adult”- like strictly.
The movie Blonde is a dark and glitzy project. It’s likely to strike a number of emotions on its viewers. Its target audience would mostly be millennials and the ones nesting a thing or two for biographic Hollywood projects.
Since the director is also the screenwriter, he hopes that people don’t recall Ana when she appears in the film as Marlyn. He wants them to recall Marlyn herself for that would be a magic well made, and then Ama after it.
Blonde is soon to be released on Netflix in 2022.