The Netflix film has been written and directed by Andrew Dominik, who previously wrote and directed the Brad Pitt film Killing Them Softly in 2012. That film was based on George V. Higgins’ novel, Cogan’s Trade. Dominik’s Blonde will continue his trend of adapting novels and exploring human emotion. Blonde is inspired by the 2000 best-selling novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates. Pitt will serve as a producer on the film.
RELATED: Guillermo del Torro’s Pinocchio Gets New First-Look Photos Of The Puppet And Geppetto
The teaser for Blonde begins with de Armas seated in front of a vanity as she prays for someone to arrive. Allan “Whitey” Snyder (Toby Huss), Monroe’s makeup artist, reassures her that they will be there, and she erupts into a fit of laughter. The Netflix teaser also provides brief glimpses of de Armas throughout Blonde, in the various stages of Monroe’s career. Each shot puts Monroe at the center of attention and aims to show the personal toll it took on Monroe. The film also aims to put emphasis on Norma Jeane Mortensen, Monroe’s identity before she became a massive star. “We wanted to tell a human side of her story,” de Armas said about the creation of Blonde. “Fame is what made Marilyn the most visible person in the world, but it also made Norma the most invisible.”
The release of Blonde’s first teaser was joined by four stills of de Armas as the icon. The stills, along with the teaser, include some of Monroe’s most iconic looks. The teaser includes a look at de Armas in the infamous white halter dress Monroe wore in the 1955 film, The Seven Year Itch. The stills document other infamous images of Monroe’s career, which include photo shoots, candids, and the pink satin dress she wore in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. de Armas noted that every scene of Blonde is inspired by a photograph that she, Dominik, and others involved in the film would pore over, and it shows.
In addition to scouring over these details, de Armas spent nearly three hours in hair and makeup before each day of filming to perfect the physical look of Monroe. In the released teaser and stills, de Armas and Huss are the only ones spotted. However, Blonde’s supporting cast will make up various others from Monroe’s life. Adrien Brody will star as playwright Arthur Miller, Bobby Cannavale will star as New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio, Casper Phillipson will star as President John F. Kennedy, and Julianne Nicholson will play Monroe’s mother.
Blonde’s NC-17 rating has taken some by surprise, though the angle that Dominik tackles Monroe through permits it. Examining Monroe’s challenges both as Marilyn and Norma, the trauma and abuse she experienced as a child, Hollywood’s treatment of her, the power that comes with being in the spotlight, as well as her persona as a sex symbol in the ’50s and ’60s, certainly merits the rating of the film.
Blonde is scheduled for release on September 23, 2022, on Netflix.
MORE: Stranger Things: The 5 Best Characters In Season 4 Vol. 1
Source: Netflix Queue
