The first trailer for the highly anticipated Netflix film Blonde, starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, is finally here. But it’s left people somewhat divided because of one glaring (or tiny, depending on who you ask) problem…
Blonde, which is based on the bestselling novel of the same name, is an upcoming film of the ‘biographical fiction’ genre; meaning the film is a fictionalised take on real-life actress Marilyn Monroe’s life. It’s a tad confusing but essentially, there will be some storylines in Blonde, that did not actually happen to Monroe.
Perhaps that’s why the trailer for Blonde – which was just released – shows Ana de Armas playing Monroe with hints of a Spanish accent. Of course, de Armas is Cuban and her first language is Spanish but when it was first announced she would be playing Monroe in Blonde, many thought she would play Monroe with an American accent, as Monroe was American in real life and because it was reported that de Armas was working with a dialect coach for the film.
WATCH: The trailer for ‘Blonde’…
However, because Blonde isn’t trying to be one hundred per cent accurate to Monroe’s real life, perhaps the film’s writer and director Andrew Dominik isn’t concerned about the Monroe in his film having a slightly different voice to the real one. After all, Monroe’s breathy almost childlike voice is hard to imitate, and de Armas does a fine job at the breathiness – just not so much at the American-ness.
But while Dominik may not be concerned, when Netflix shared the first trailer for Blonde on Twitter, many were disappointed with de Armas’ portrayal of Monroe. One Twitter user wrote, “She looks the part but I can’t get past the accent” while another said, “Looks incredible but unfortunately, her accent gets in the way. I know she worked really hard but it’s still very much there”.
User @NovaQuinn_3375 Tweeted that she was happy de Armas was given the opportunity to play Monroe but was “pretty upset” that de Armas hadn’t nailed an imitation of Monroe’s voice.
“I’m truly happy to know that a Latina woman was given such an amazing role to play in a film of this magnitude but, I’m pretty upset she didn’t take the time to study, practice & learn how to minimize her accent and speak like Monroe.”
Twitter user @NovaQuinn_3375
These sentiments were echoed by user @lostdogs20, who said, “Ana should have worked harder to get rid of her accent, I can still hear it.”
There were many though, who didn’t care that de Armas was playing Monroe with hints of a Spanish accent; and some didn’t even hear the Spanish accent at all.
One Twitter user wrote, “It looks as though de Armas is going to utterly inhabit this role, and that means more to me than whether the accent is bang on. Preparing myself for what may be a very strong film,” while another said, “What accent are y’all talking about[?] I don’t hear it…”
Twitter user @AdamDidThat had the funniest response with their comment, “I love that she kept her own accent, now Americans know how the rest of the world feels when they butcher every accent in every other movie ever.”
On a more serious note, some have taken issue with Blonde (which has been rated as not suitable for anyone under 18) for trivialising and further exploiting Monroe as opposed to de Armas’ accent. Twitter user @versaceschanel wrote, “I want Andrew Dominik to make it crystal clear that Blonde is fictional NOT a biopic bc if he doesn’t the film will go on and feed the public (who already has weak knowledge) more bs and false Marilyn Monroe narratives, tarnishing her name and legacy on the way.”
Similarly, user @themarilyngirl wrote an entire thread about why they won’t watch Blonde at all. Ultimately, @themarilyngirl believes that Blonde is “violating, tasteless and disrespectful” to Monroe’s memory mainly because it’s been confirmed that the film will feature an explicit rape scene despite there being no proof of Monroe being raped in her adult life and despite Monroe not being able to consent (she’s been dead for 60 years) to being presented in such a manner.
Many have defended Blonde though and believe the film will be respectful, and that it shouldn’t be judged until it’s released; as user @Rafaelc4492 put it, “To pre-judge something before the fact is supremely pompous and self-righteous”. I guess will all have to wait until Blonde is released globally on Netflix on September 28th to see if the film lives up to all the hype and rectifies the dividedness the trailer caused…
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