Finally, after months of using that same Blade Runner 2049 photo of Ana de Armas with blonde, ringlet hair when writing about this movie, we can lay that image to rest. Netflix has dropped the real first look at Blonde, starring de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, and, to be honest, she looks almost the exact same as she did in that Blade Runner photo: blonde, curly hair. Gorgeousness. You get the idea.
A warped version of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” plays atop de Armas’ Monroe, as she sobs in front of the mirror, praying for someone—we don’t know who, quite yet—to come to her show.
“She’s coming,” a man’s voice responds. “She’s almost here.” Marilyn gives herself a sullen look in the vanity mirror. Then, after a big, toothy grin, she breaks out into that iconic full-mouth laugh of hers, throwing her head back. There’s our Marilyn!
Amid those hauntingly glamorous mirror scenes, we get a few glimpses of de Armas standing in for Monroe in some of her most iconic moments. Right after she sobs, we’re transported to a famous scene from The Seven Year Itch, the white dress, and the sidewalk grate. Though Monroe looks charismatic as ever, a suffocating amount of paparazzi snap pictures. Then, we get a quick tease of the pink scene in Some Like it Hot.
These scenes feel like shot-for-shot recreations of Monroe’s most iconic moments, and while de Armas nails the movie star’s essence, it’ll be interesting to see the deeper layers to Blonde. Director Andrew Dominik has teased the movie to varying degrees: It’ll be NC-17 and has “very little” dialogue, but it also happens to be more accessible than his previous projects. Those titles include Killing Them Softly, The Assassination of Jesse James, and a handful of others.
“The film is sincere. It’s made with love. It’s made with good intentions. But it’s full of rage at the same time,” Dominik told Netflix’s Queue magazine. “I seem to get myself in these situations where people regard me as provocative, but it’s never what I’m trying to do. I’m just trying to say it as clearly as I can. My ambition is to make you fall in love with Marilyn.”
Maybe the rest of the world needs some convincing, but I’ve already fallen in love with Marilyn over and over again. Alas, perhaps Blonde will offer something fresh to reinvigorate the world’s passion for the superstar. Coming in at a whopping 2 hours and 46 minutes, it seems Blonde certainly has enough time to convince us all.
Blonde will land on Netflix Sept. 23.
