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Blonde on Netflix: This rape scene deeply marked Ana de Armas

Blonde, a fake biopic about Marilyn Monroe, alienates the audience due to many shocking scenes. One of them depicts a rape for which Ana de Armas had to prepare emotionally. Warning, spoilers.

Warning, spoilers. Before continuing reading this article, it is recommended that you have seen Blonde.

Available on Netflix from September 28, Blonde is a bold and brutal retelling of Marilyn Monroe’s life. Adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’ bestseller of the same name, this mockumentary by Andrew Dominik depicts the turbulent childhood, meteoric rise and complicated love affairs of Norma Jeane, who later became Marilyn Monroe, one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons.

Actress Ana de Armas has the difficult task of portraying an actress who portrays a Hollywood star in this feature film between reality and fiction that explores the major gap between her public persona and the persona she was.

A shocking and horrifying rape scene for Ana de Armas

For this film, the Cuban actor had to shoot many test scenes where his character suffered from domestic violence, sexual abuse and rape. One of the sequences deeply shocked the public: the one where Marilyn Monroe visits the President of the United States is not named, even though we know that it is John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

After being escorted out by security agents, Merlin finds the President (played by Caspar Phillipson) sprawled on his bed. He says he had a hard day and asks him to masturbate. As the actor masturbates her, he violently forces her to perform oral sex against her will. The camera is fixed on Merlin’s face and forced to move back and forth.

This particularly shocking rape scene traumatized and shocked many viewers who wondered about the relevance of such a scene in the film. Ana de Armas answers this question in the river interview variety And explains that such a stark representation of Marilyn Monroe’s sexual experiences and traumas was necessary:

“We’re telling his story, from his point of view. I’m making people feel what he felt. When we had to shoot scenes like the one with Kennedy, it was difficult for everyone. But at the same time, I knew I had to go there to find out the truth.”

The actor talks about the emotional charge of these sequences, which he worked on with director Andrew Dominique: “He put me in a very, very specific emotional state. Imagine for a second that you can’t express anger. What that does to you is really not healthy.”

Very experienced with shooting, Ana de Armas did her best to put distance between herself and her character outside of the shoot: “When I do my hair and makeup, it’s just me, it’s Anna”. But his mind was turned upside down, and the actor describes his situation on set as “deeply sad”: “I felt weighed down. I felt powerless that I couldn’t change what was happening. I just had to go through a story that I knew exactly how it would end.”

This series with the president and other violent scenes became the reason why Kera was restricted. It is the first Netflix film to be restricted to under-17s in the United States (equivalent to the under-18 restriction in France).

In CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend PodcastAndrew Dominik explains that he couldn’t imagine how much he could mark the scene and thinks he must have participated in the classification of blondes:

“Probably. I mean, it’s hard to say because it’s safe. They’re just giving you hints about what might be problematic, you know? Yeah, maybe. The scene. But on the other hand, people seem to be upset by the movie or somehow affected by the movie. So That it might be more effective than I thought.”[lascèneMaisd’unautrecôtélesgenssemblentêtrebouleversésparlefilmotouchésparlefilmd’unemanièreoud’uneautreAlorsc’estpeut-êtreplusefficacequejenelepensais”[lascèneMaisd’unautrecôtélesgenssemblentêtrebouleversésparlefilmoutouchésparlefilmd’unemanièreoud’uneautreAlorsc’estpeut-êtreplusefficacequejenelepensais”

After Blonde went live on Netflix, the backlash from viewers was swift. Andrew Dominik’s feature film leaves no one indifferent and divides. If some people shout “masterpiece” and “the best film of the year”, others think that it is a “difficult” and “testing” film, even “hell”.

Spotlight – Our “3 Movies” podcast about Marilyn Monroe:

Blonde is available on Netflix.

Source: allocine

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