Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in ‘Blonde’
31/10/2022

‘Every baby needs a da-da-daddy’

The bright days of our lives are just as gradually and naturally replaced by dark and gloomy ones, like shots of ‘Blonde’, the Marilyn Monroe biopic. Here is a story about a pretty little fatherless girl in a large and brutal male world. The images are provocative, cruel and inhumane, but they bring the viewer closer to the true story of the star’s life.

Based on the book of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, ‘Blonde’ was presented at the Venice International Film Festival. After the screening, critics shared their mixed feelings about the biopic. For example, Richard Lawson from Vanity Fair wrote that the actress is ‘fiercely, almost scarily committed to the role, maintaining high and focused energy through every torrent of tears and screams and traumas’ and crafts a ‘vivid and frightening picture of the madness of fame.’

On September 28, Netflix finally released ‘Blonde.’ Previously, the streaming service managers insisted that the director, Andrew Dominic, should cut out the explicit footage, but he was adamantly against doing that. Therefore, the biopic with an NC-17 rating became Netflix’s first film only for adults. However, were these sexually violent scenes a necessity? How did this affect Ana de Armas, who played the role of Norma Jeane (Marilyn Monroe’s real name)?

This psychological drama film is, even without these episodes, about a woman whose mother was mentally ill, a woman with a complicated life who becomes mentally unstable too. So it is still obviously not one for 18 years old or younger people. Be ready to cry, to adopt all the main character’s emotions.

What about Ana de Armas? The actress probably understands what the director wants her to show the audience and knows how she should do this. ‘He wanted the world to experience what it actually felt like to not only be Marilyn, but also Norma Jeane. I found that to be the most daring, unapologetic and feminist take on her story I had ever seen,’ she said in her interview with Netflix’s Queue. It is really a challenging role to play, but the story isn’t shiny and straightforward either. 

The film shows Monroe’s life as clearly as her friends or some of her so-called daddies could not understand.

‘Every baby needs a da-da-daddy
To keep her worry-free
Every baby needs a da-da-daddy
But where’s one for me.’ 

The poor girl… And the great Hollywood icon’s story.

The film is what it should be. Full of tragedy, loneliness and madness together with Marylin Monroe’s songs and photos represented by Ana de Armas. Full of boop-boop-a-doop and the finest and hottest magazine covers with the blonde.

Text: Nataliia Huchok
Photo: Netflix