‘Watched by all, seen by none’: The trailer for Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde is out

Marilyn Monroe is a woman everyone knows about — but does anyone really know her? Blonde, a film based on her life, poses this question in its latest trailer.

On Thursday, Netflix released the clip captioned, “Discover a life both known and unknown in this boldly imaginative film from Director Andrew Dominik that explores the complicated life of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe. Based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde, starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Xavier Samuel, and Julianne Nicholson premieres on Netflix, September 28.”

The mostly black and white trailer begins with a man at Monroe’s door, telling her “it’s time”. She blows a kiss at the mirror and the next scene has her stepping out of a car into the light of flashing cameras as a crowd chants her name. The beginning of the video symbolises the perception of glamour people have of the icon’s life but quickly we see her seated across from an interviewer asking her how she got her start. A troubled expression takes over her face as we visit a flashback implicative of harassment while her famous song ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’ plays eerily in the back.

It only gets darker from here as we see her lose control of herself and form a clear distinction between the person she is and the person they see onscreen. “I’ve played Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe,” de Armas can be heard saying over the montage of footage of the woman born as Norma Jeane struggling with the effects of her public image. “I can’t face doing another scene with Marilyn Monroe.”

Branded as “watched by all, seen by none”, the biopic explores the split lives of a Hollywood star. Written and directed by Dominik, Blonde is produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tracey Landon and Scott Robertson, with Christina Oh as executive producer.