Ana de Armas is buzzing about her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in an upcoming film — but some can’t get over her heroine voice… which still sounds very Spanish.
Here’s the deal… ADA stars in this Netflix movie coming out in September called “Blonde,” which is an NC-17 account of a slice of Marilyn’s life—albeit through a hyper-stylized lens (it’s based on a fictional a book exploring the struggles of MM, plus rape/abuse, etc.)
Seen by all. Seen by no one.
Ana de Armas is Marilyn Monroe in Blonde, premiering on September 28. pic.twitter.com/vQHUqsmVGy
— Netflix (@netflix) July 28, 2022 @netflix
We’ll get to the graphic content in a bit – because there’s outrage about that too – but first we need to get into the people who are worried about Anna’s accent still being there… which was revealed in the latest Netflix trailer for the movie that came out last week. Twitter is in a frenzy.
As you can see (and hear) for yourself, there are still quite noticeable traces of Anna’s native tongue in her performance. She’s from Cuba and came to the States as an adult … and almost all of her films so far feature her natural accent.
I know the movie isn’t out yet but Blonde starring Ana de Armas looks stunning and the scenes give me chills but I know you can still hear her accent… like it’s LOUD. I’m very surprised they thought she sounded like Marilyn because she literally doesn’t. looks like? Yes
— aslean janelle (@asleanjflorence) July 28, 2022 @asleanjflorence
The problem here – at least for users of the bird app – is that it feels somewhat distracting to see Marilyn have a typical American accent. Some say it’s odd that Anna didn’t perfect it for this Oscar-bait role, especially since so many actors these days (international and otherwise) play crossover roles all the time, often to rave reviews and much fanfare.
Also, Anna said in the beginning that she underwent 9 months of professional dialect training for the part — but now a handful of people are wondering what she has to show for it.
People complaining about Ana de Armas’ Spanish accent in the trailer for BLONDE… is one of the reasons non-English speaking actors can’t make it in Hollywood. Audiences will call suspension of disbelief about men with superpowers wearing tights, but draw the line at highlights
— Thomas Rivera Montes (@thomasrm21) July 28, 2022 @thomasrm21
Of course, many are also defending Anna – saying any criticism of her accent is misplaced and misguided – and perhaps veering into xenophobic territory. Some say there are tons of examples of American actors butchering foreign accents, but no one pays attention to them.
There are also some who think the accent is not good or off – arguing that it shouldn’t be the only element that snaps people out of their disbelief, especially since we do it all the time for superhero movies. In other words, Film Twitter is divided on this issue.
While this debate rages, there’s also talk of this film potentially exploiting Marilyn’s history and legacy … all for the sake of shock value in portraying her immense suffering on camera, which many consider gross – especially with free reign of Rating NC-17.
There’s a lot of discussion going on, but we guess we’ll have to wait and see the final product. “Blonde” premieres September 28 on Netflix.
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