BLONDE Trailer

An icon is imagined in Blonde, the latest from writer/director Andrew Dominik.

Imagined is the key word here because the film is based on the fictional book of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, which filtered the life of Norma Jeane Mortenson through the creation of her iconic screen persona, Marilyn Monroe. The book has received as many accolades for its exploration of celebrity as it has criticisms of its rampant sexuality, the latter of which was apparently held onto for this film version, hence the NC-17 rating from the MPAA. The former will almost certainly have been retained as well because it’s impossible to discuss Marilyn Monroe today without discussing the fabrications that made her the epitome of a tragic star.

The material is rife with ideas Dominik has masterfully explored in the past, particularly in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, itself an exploration of celebrity and mythmaking in the wild west.

Staring as the titular…character? …idea? is Ana de Armas, who follows in the footsteps of Michelle Williams and a host of other actresses who have taken on the slippery role. Hers will be even more difficult to grasp given the nature of Oates’ book, but the oddity of the source material and the team trying to bring it to life is what makes Blonde such an eye-popping attempt to capture the star. It’s a true risk in an age of risk-averse productions, and we’ll have to wait to see how it turned out.

Blonde is directed by Andrew Dominik and stars Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, and Bobby Cannavale. It will be released in the US on September 28th on Netflix. For international release dates. click here.

How do you think this adaptation will turn out? Let us know in the comments!