Produced by Plan B Entertainment and distributed by Netflix, Blonde has been ramping up its publicity campaign in the past few weeks. Publicity photos and a short teaser were released earlier this month, and only yesterday audiences were treated to new behind-the-scenes Blonde photos of the film’s making.
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The new Blonde trailer depicts a mood of vulnerability and sadness. Images of Monroe in her dressing room, walking the red carpet, and being photographed are intercut with footage of her at a diner with a male friend. When he asks her how she got her start in movies, we see a flashback to Monroe being harassed by a studio executive in his office. In the diner, she looks away in embarrassment and says, “I guess I was discovered.”
All of this is set to audio of the real Monroe singing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” from her iconic role in Howard Hawks’ 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The juxtaposition between the confident seductress persona of the song and the vulnerable, exploited young woman portrayed by de Armas masterfully evokes the tragic irony of Monroe’s life. The trailer ends with the text “watched by all, seen by none” as the footage shows Monroe crashing her car into a tree, standing helplessly in a burning room, and silently mouthing “help me.”
Monroe was one of the most recognizable names of Classical Hollywood and an iconic image of the era. In fact, when the artist Andy Warhol wanted to comment on U.S. society’s obsession with and objectification of film stars in the 1960s, he chose Monroe as the subject of his famous silkscreen paintings. However, because the star led such a complicated and multi-faceted life, there has been speculation over what angle the upcoming Blonde will take. Will it focus on the difficult life of the young actress born Norma Jeane Mortenson or will it focus on the beloved bubbly sex symbol who went by the stage name Marilyn Monroe? Judging from the new trailer, it’s clear that Blonde will primarily tackle Norma Jeane’s troubled life and her struggle with the exaggerated screen persona that was so different from her own personality.
De Armas seems the perfect choice as Norma Jeane/Monroe. Not only does she melt into the role and cast a visually convincing Monroe, but one can’t help but draw some parallels between de Armas’ career and Monroe’s struggle with her on-stage persona. The eminently talented de Armas has largely been relegated to objectified supporting roles. This includes the subservient (repeatedly nude) hologram girlfriend of Blade Runner 2049, the sexualized Bond girl of No Time to Die, and the female agent who’s beaten up by random men and gets virtually no character arc in The Gray Man. De Armas’ leading role in Blonde is much deserved and will almost certainly clinch her a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards next spring.
Blonde will arrive at Netflix on September 28, 2022.
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Source: Netflix/YouTube
