The first official trailer for the Netflix film Blonde about Marilyn Monroe has have given a mixed reception by fans of the Hollywood icon.
The first substantial look at the biopic comes two months before it is released on the streaming platform,
Ana de Armas’s portrayal of the troubled Hollywood icon has divided opinion online with some saying she “rocks” while others have said the Cuban-Spanish actress’s accent is not fitting to the all-American legacy of Monroe.
Blonde has been trailed with the tagline “watched by all, seen by none,” and will be available on Netflix on September 28.
Andrew Dominik has directed the adaption of Joyce Carol Oates’s novel and said it contains “little dialogue,” with greater emphasis on “images and events”.
It is the first film produced by Netflix to carry the rarely awarded American NC-17 rating, the US equivalent of an 18 certificate, for its sexual content.
“Can't wait to see it. Ana de Armas rocks,” wrote Nicholas Garrick on YouTube.
Fabian Quiroz added: “So many beautiful actresses played Marilyn before and many of them did a good job... but with Ana I actually have the feeling I am watching the real Marilyn.”
Jessica Chastain and Naomi Watts were also both reportedly attached to the role of Monroe at various points in pre-production but dropped out during early development.
While many are impressed with the early signs of what de Armas - who won plaudits for parts in Knives Out and No Time to Die - can bring to the role, others are less convinced she is the right choice to head the $22m production.
One Twitter user wrote: “Am I the only one not surprised that Ana De Armas sounds bad in the Blonde trailer? Her accent is very heavy; it was going to take a lot for her to convincingly sound like Marilyn.”
Another added: “I think Ana de Armas is a fantastic actress and looks great as Marilyn, but I still hear her accent in the Blonde trailer and it’s taking her out of character for me.”
Others were unhappy with the production of the trailer itself.
“I have just watched the trailer for Blonde and, no more,” one fan wrote on Twitter. “Please can you tell all the movie people to stop making the same trailer. You know, clips from the movie, overlaid with a slowed down ‘atmospheric’ version of a song we all know.”
Another wrote: “That Blonde trailer gave me ‘collage of Marilyn’s pop culture moments’ vibes. It doesn’t read like a biography, more like an exploitation film masquerading as one.”
The fictional portrayal of Monroe’s struggle with fame is, however, likely to cause “some controversy” - according to Adrien Brody who stars as Monroe’s third husband, the playwright Arthur Miller.
Director, Mr Dominik put it more bluntly. “If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the f***ing audience’s problem,” he told Screen Daily. “[The film is] not running for public office.”
