Ana de Armas is in disagreement with Blonde’s NC-17 rating, arguing that it’s not nearly as explicit as other films and shows.
The 34-year-old Cuban-Spanish actor stars as famed icon Marilyn Monroe in the forthcoming psychological drama biopic.
Based on Joyce Carol Oates’s novel of the same name, it became Netflix’s first original film to receive Motion Picture Association’s highest rating for its sexual content. Which is a rating only given to films with content the MPA deems unsuitable for ages 17 and younger.
“I didn’t understand why that happened,” de Armas told L’Officiel in a new interview. “I can tell you a number of shows or movies that are way more explicit with a lot more sexual content than Blonde.
“But to tell this story, it is important to show all these moments in Marilyn’s life that made her end up the way that she did. It needed to be explained. Everyone [in the cast] knew we had to go to uncomfortable places. I wasn’t the only one.”
Ahead of its release, director Andrew Dominik has already predicted the film will “offend everyone”, with actor Adrien Brody – who stars as the Hollywood star’s husband, playwright Arthur Miller – agreeing that “there’ll be some controversy”.
“It’s a demanding movie,” Dominik told Screen Daily in February this year. “If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the f***ing audience’s problem. It’s not running for public office.”
Oates has already praised the adaptation, saying: “I think [Dominik] succeeded in showing the experience of Norma Jeane Baker [Monroe’s real name] from her perspective, rather than see it from the outside, the male gaze looking at a woman.”
Blonde premieres on Netflix on 28 September.
