Ana de Armas’ Marilyn Monroe Movie Blonde Officially Rated NC-17

Blonde, Ana de Armas’ new Marilyn Monroe Netflix movie, has officially been rated NC-17. Based on a book of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde was first announced back in 2010 and suffered a lengthy development process plagued with various issues regarding financing. The upcoming film, which has been dubbed a fictionalized narrative inspired by Monroe’s life, is written and directed by Andrew Dominik and co-stars Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Sara Paxton, Julianne Nicholson, and Garret Dillahunt.

Although at various points in the film’s development both Naomi Watts and Jessica Chastain were attached to star as Monroe, it was announced in 2019 that de Armas was joining the project in the leading role. De Armas is said to have undergone months of training with a dialect coach to get Monroe’s accent and voice just right and has been spotted on set for the film looking shockingly like Monroe herself. Blonde has long been the subject of headlines regarding its delays and rumored explicit subject matter and, in February, Dominik went on record about the film, feeding rumors that it would be rated NC-17 as well as calling the film “demanding,” and saying, “If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the f—ing audience’s problem.”

After months of rumors, a new report from The Wrap confirms that Blonde has now officially been rated NC-17 by the MPA and will release in 2022. The film earned the rating entirely for “some sexual content” with no mention of language or any kind of violence. Unlike an R rating, which allows those under 17 to view a movie if accompanied by an adult, an NC-17 rating means that nobody under 17 is allowed to watch the movie at all, regardless of whether an adult accompanies them.

Blonde marks the first Netflix original film to get the NC-17 rating, although the streamer has featured movies with the rating before. The report from The Wrap also claims that Dominik was unwilling to compromise when it came to some of the more intense elements of Monroe’s life and that the film does feature “adult, mature content.” Many familiar with the book have already speculated that the rating could be due to one graphic scene in particular, which sees a 21-year old Monroe get sexually assaulted at her very first movie audition, although it’s not clear if that scene has made it into the film.

While Netflix hasn’t shied away from depicting graphic sexual elements in its original content in the past, Blonde certainly seems poised to be the streamer’s most high-profile movie to do so yet. Considering de Armas’ star power and the controversy that the movie has already drummed up, Blonde will likely mark a very talked-about release for Netflix, especially depending on how far it pushes its NC-17 rating. No firm release date has been given for the film just yet, but audiences (as long as they’re over 17) can expect to watch Blonde at some point this year.

Source: The Wrap

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