Netflix released the Marilyn Monroe movie Blonde starring Ana de Armas as the legendary actress, and there is a backlash over the actor’s accent in the role. Excitement was high for the movie in part due to its NC-17 rating, the first of its kind on Netflix. However, there was a lot of controversy surrounding Blonde, with critics saying it exploited Marilyn Monroe’s life and trauma. However, there was also controversy surrounding criticism of Ana de Armas’s portrayal of the tragic Hollywood figure. Adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’s novel of the same name, Andrew Dominik’s Blonde depicts a fictionalized version of Marilyn Monroe’s life.
Oates’s novel is told from Marilyn Monroe’s perspective, and Dominik maintained this device and expanded it to include how the world viewed Marilyn Monroe compared to how she viewed herself as Norma Jeane. Blonde was originally to star British-Australian actress Naomi Watts, then American actress Jessica Chastain, but ultimately the role of Marilyn went to Ana de Armas, a Cuban-Spanish actress who transitioned to English-speaking roles in 2015. That would explain her accent, but whether the Blonde backlash was warranted in this case is a question that still remains.
Why Was Blonde Criticized For Ana de Armas’ Accent?
In Blonde, Ana de Armas’s Cuban accent is evident in her performance as Marilyn despite “nine months of dialect coaching” (via The Times). However, de Armas’s accent is irrelevant to the quality of the movie. Blonde is a fictional retelling of a true story and is not intended to be a biopic. Also, de Armas’s accent is not the only discrepancy about Marilyn Monroe’s life as it’s portrayed in Blonde. What made it most interesting is that her accent would come and go in scenes, making the entire split personality of Marilyn/Norma Jeane more evident. Ana de Armas completely transformed into Marilyn, mastering her personality traits, so her accent was not an issue for her overall performance.
Blonde Isn’t A True Biopic, Which Is Why It Will Be Great
Blonde is based on historical fiction, which gave writer-director Andrew Dominik and his star, Ana de Armas, more creative freedom with the story. Plenty of movies use English or American actors to play international characters, including real-life figures, and there is rarely any backlash in response to their accents in the movies. More often, the success of biopics and other movies based on true stories is instead dependent on their closeness to the facts. The movie is free from such scrutiny as well as other expectations with the portrayal of certain aspects of Marilyn Monroe’s life because Blonde is not a real biopic. Instead, it can show a version of her story from multiple perspectives.
Also, playing Marilyn Monroe breaks the trend of Ana de Armas being typecast. This opens up a much wider range of roles for the actor, who has increasingly been praised for her performances in such movies as Knives Out, No Time to Die, and The Gray Man. Ultimately, being able to hear de Armas’s Cuban accent as Marilyn Monroe could even be a blessing, for reminding viewers that it’s actually de Armas on screen and, in turn, that Blonde is not a biopic of Marilyn Monroe’s life and shouldn’t be understood as such. Blonde was a big deal for director Dominik, de Armas, and Netflix, and the absurd backlash to her accent unfairly undermined this.
Ana De Armas’ Performance Was Legitimized By An Oscar Nomination
Once Blonde hit Netflix, the criticism was intense but focused on how the story treated the life of Marilyn Monroe and despite all the complaints about the movie, script, and direction, Armas received almost nothing but praise. She also received a lot of award recognition. Armas picked up her first Oscar nomination for the role, competing for Best Supporting Actress. She also picked up the same award nomination at the Golden Globes, where she lost out to Cate Blanchett for the movie Tár. That was also the only award nomination for Blonde, but if anything, it proved the movie’s perceived problems had nothing to do with its lead actress.
Key Release Dates
Blonde
Release Date:2022-09-23
