Entertainment
The Trailer for Netflix's Marilyn Monroe Biopic Just Dropped
by Justine Fisher
28 July 2022
Starring as the original material girl, Ana de Armas reveals a darker side to the life of Marilyn Monroe in a new trailer for Blonde.
Set in the peak of Monroe’s fame, the two-minute-an-eight-second trailer teases fire, tragedy and a car crash for the bio-pic’s Sep. 28 release on Netflix. Andrew Dominik’s black-and-white film, based off of Joyce Carol Oates’ novel "Blonde" is set to examine Monroe’s alluring persona, rehashing iconic moments that came along with her rise to stardom, including her tumultuous romances.
\u201cWatched by all. Seen by none.\n\nAna de Armas is Marilyn Monroe in Blonde, premiering September 28.\u201d— Netflix (@Netflix) 1659013200
With cameras flashing and crowds cheering, as a slowed-down “Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend” plays, Armas’ solemn expression alludes to a cynical perspective on the glitz and glamor of Monroe’s lifestyle. Thrust into the public eye as a sex symbol under a stage name, the sneak peek reveals her distaste for the persona, as the actress says, “Marilyn doesn’t exist. When I come out of my dressing room, I’m still Norma Jeane.”
Though not all featured in the trailer, Armas’ co-stars include Xavier Samuel, Evan Williams, Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson and Bobby Cannavale. Cast as her second husband, baseball player Joe DiMaggio, Cannavale’s role allows the film to play out the relationship. Oates explains in an interview with Vanity Fair, “Marilyn was so insecure, so demanding, that it was hard for anyone to love her or even help her.”
However, at its core, the film is not about the men in her life but, as Dominik said to Netflix's Queue, “The film’s very much concerned with the relationship with herself and with this other persona, Marilyn, which is both her armor and the thing that is threatening to consume her.” Inspired to go blonde and draw on Monroe’s beauty mark for Dominik’s passion project, Armas said she admired the film’s “feminist take” that tells “the human side of her story.”
For the icon, credited with ushering in the 1960s sexual revolution, it seems about time that we get a film with a behind-the-scenes look at the tortured actress.
Photo via Netflix/\