Marilyn Monroe was one of the most iconic actresses we’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. Joyce Carol Oates wrote the historical fiction novel “Blonde” to introduce readers to the life of the great legend of the screen. After getting a chance to see the upcoming Netflix adaptation, Oates recently praised the finished project for one key detail.
“Blonde” tells how the price of fame led to the short 36-year life of a blonde bombshell. Collider spoke with Blonde writer Joyce Carol Oates during the Neuchatel International. Fantastic film Festival in Switzerland, where she saw the film adaptation of her novel on Netflix and what she liked most about this film.
Andrew Dominic is a very brilliant director. I think he managed to show the experience of Norma Jean Baker from her point of view, and not see it from the outside, with a man’s gaze looking at a woman. He immersed himself in her worldview.
Capturing the life of Marilyn Monroe on the screen, of course, can be difficult, given that we are used to getting to know her from the outside, as in “My Week with Marilyn”, or through documentaries. Director Andrew Dominick explained that the deeper meaning of “Blonde” is to show how a children’s drama can shape an adult. That even if we see Monroe through the images we’ve already seen, we get an intimate look at how she went from a dozen different foster parents to the “most wanted woman in the world” by the masses.
However, Dominic also believes that viewers will be offended by the film for not giving a “sharp and dry” image of the “Itch of the Seventh Year” actress and leaving it more ambiguous than the audience would like. This tone seems appropriate for the film, given that Joyce Carol Oates interpreted the life of Marilyn Monroe when she wrote the book, and Andrew Dominick provides a visualization of this interpretation. Only the pop culture icon herself can talk about what her life really was like.
One thing that came as a shock to the AFI Award—winning director was the film’s unexpected NC-17 rating. Given that the MPAA put this rating on adults because of “some sexual content,” Dominic seems to be happy with the rating of his film. And I don’t blame him, considering that “some” sexual content is most likely only in fragments of the film. After all, NC-17 restricts advertising and may limit the audience that watches the movie. Although this rating seems to be an obstacle for the film to receive Oscar attention, perhaps it will really go down in history in this regard.
Another reason Oates loved “Blonde” was that Ana De Armas recreated iconic moments of Marilyn Monroe’s life. She hailed De Armas’ dedication during the hours of makeup she had to endure to create the image of a Hollywood starlet. Considering that this rising star dazzled the audience with her performances in the films “It’s Not Time to Die” and “Get Knives”, we can expect a stellar performance, as she brings to life the spectacle of Marilyn Monroe.
We will have the opportunity to see Andrew Dominic and Ana De Armas show us Marilyn Monroe, whom we have never seen before, on a Netflix subscription on September 23.
