Hair, Make-up and a Little Hollywood Magic Reworked Ana de Armas Into Marilyn Monroe for 'Blonde'
For a close to three-hour runtime, Ana de Armas was reworked into the Hollywood icon.
Photograph: Matt Kennedy/Courtesy of Netflix
Reworking an actor right into a historic determine is rarely simple, particularly when that determine has a face as recognizable and iconic as Marilyn Monroe’s.
“Blonde,” the much-buzzed-about movie that made its Netflix debut on Wednesday, portrays a fictionalized model of Monroe’s life, dying and transformation from Norma Jeane Mortenson into celeb and cultural sensation. Director Andrew Dominik (who’s himself fairly problematic) toys with the instruments of movie to painting a narrative of childhood trauma, womanhood and supreme tragedy.
A whopping heap of controversy precedes the movie and the way it portrays Monroe: Critics level out the selective storytelling skewed towards victimhood, liberties taken with rumors in regards to the topic’s life, graphic assault scenes and an total sense of exploitation and even torture porn that permeate the movie. It has been described as brutal, relentless and customarily pointless.
“I can hardly recall a moviegoing expertise that I so desperately wished to hit the eject button on by the halfway level, but was so grasped by the throat regardless of the deterrence,” wrote Jack King in a overview of the movie for GQ.
Based mostly on a novel by Joyce Carol Oates, the movie just isn’t (and doesn’t declare to be) a biopic. However for a film that goals to discover the struggling of an icon, the movie perpetuates it. For a lot of viewers, “Blonde” leans into victimization and pity in flip stripping away Monroe’s energy and profession accomplishments. The main focus appears to be on trauma — with a gratuitous variety of topless scenes.
However regardless of these controversies, there is not any denying the expertise — and big enterprise — of the wonder groups who re-created the enduring signatures with which we’re all so acquainted. Monroe is, after all, immediately recognizable for her trademark brilliant blonde hair, cat eyes accentuated by nook lashes and a vibrant pink lip. The work and inventive imaginative and prescient of make-up artist Tina Roesler Kerwin and hairstylist Jaime Leigh McIntosh introduced realism to the movie’s visuals, remodeling de Armas into one in every of Hollywood’s favourite icons with an accuracy that’s each exceptional and uncanny.
“One of many issues director Andrew Domink had mentioned to me particularly is I am unable to put Marilyn’s make-up on Ana — I’ve to remodel Ana into Marilyn,” Kerwin says.
Each cutout and poster of Monroe within the movie (and there are a lot of) was recreated with de Armas, meticulously mimicking Monroe’s precise appears from a long time in the past. “There was no dishonest,” McIntosh says. “There was no superimposing of Ana’s face onto already current pictures of Marilyn,” nor any “photoshopped magic.”
That is how they did it.
Make-up as a Car of Transformation for Ana de Armas
Behind the scenes, Ana de Armas receives a make-up touch-up.
Photograph: Matt Kennedy/Courtesy of Netflix
There have been a handful of milestones in de Armas’ visible transformation, in response to Kerwin. They included discovering the suitable basis, realizing the right placement of lashes to imitate Monroe’s look and creating genuine getting older.
“When I discovered Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter Basis, it gave the reflection and the glow that appears a lot like Marilyn’s pictures, as a result of Marilyn used to place Vaseline on her face to create this glow,” Kerwin says. “Clearly, I am not going to place that on [Ana’s] face for 16-hour days.”
After nailing the complexion and the lash placement, there was the ultimate — and arguably most necessary — quest: the pink lip.
“Blonde” is not a black-and-white movie or a shade movie. It is each, which suggests colours should be constant throughout in a different way coloured pictures within the film. This complicates issues like lipstick, which is usually a vibrant pink when in shade, however a vampy darkish hue when in black and white.
“I had a zillion lipsticks, I imply… gobs of them,” Kerwin says. Her favorites turned a pair shades from Bésame and Guerlain. Of the 20-plus lip colours Kerwin had on set, she says “a few of them labored and a few of them did not work on Ana.”
Maybe the least glamorous make-up of all was the odd liquid that mimics getting older: Bluebird FX.
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As a result of the movie portrays the lifetime of Monroe from early on by the top of her life at 36 years previous, Kerwin wanted to authentically age de Armas to look the half. She would stretch de Armas’s pores and skin, apply the Bluebird liquid and launch her pores and skin after it dried. This created the refined wrinkles and freckles within the movie that really feel pure and real looking.
Prosthetics and Three Blonde Wigs Proved Essential to Re-Creating Monroe’s Hair
Solely three blonde wigs have been used all through the whole movie when displaying Marilyn Monroe.
Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix
Relatively surprisingly, solely three blonde wigs are used all through the whole movie.
“In all probability one of many greatest challenges was Andrew [Dominik] displaying me all these reference footage that he wished to recreate and me going, ‘However her hair is so quick, and this one is a lot longer. It is a completely different blonde right here, right here and right here’,” McIntosh recollects.
There can be pictures the place Monroe’s hair can be far shorter than any wig out there, however McIntosh says she would not wish to pin up the hair to make it seem like a helmet and lose motion.
“It was simply discovering these little compromises and balances,” McIntosh says. In line with the hairstylist, a little bit of TreSemmé Tres Two Unscented Further Maintain Hair Spray went a great distance in giving every of the three wigs’ versatility.
McIntosh and the remainder of the hair group additionally confronted an sudden problem with the wigs: the scalp downside. A blonde wig positioned over de Armas’ darkish brown hair would look foolishly apparent. An epiphany got here when McIntosh determined to make use of prosthetics to kind a partial bald cap that served as a man-made — however natural-looking — scalp atop de Armas’ precise scalp. This manner, McIntosh might apply the blonde wigs and nail the looks of Monroe’s hair, right down to her widow’s peak.
The Magnificence Symbolism in ‘Blonde’
Some constraints in hair and make-up led to moments of symbolism within the movie.
Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix
In a movie that depicts the sophisticated duality of Norma Jeane and the adored character she created, Marilyn Monroe, groups behind the scenes skilled their very own battle between selections.
“Particularly with a script like this and a narrative like this, I am simply all the time aiming and attempting and dealing in the direction of it trying as actual as attainable,” McIntosh says. “Even when it’s tremendous glamorous and beautiful-looking, I nonetheless need there to be a realness to it.”
Some challenges became symbolism.
Within the scene, for instance, wherein Monroe is driving behind a automotive with the Secret Service, her hair seems blown out by sunshine streaming in from behind the automotive. Although the hairstylist discovered this to be lower than preferrred whereas filming, the shot it created additionally wound up creating area for symbolism. Within the ultimate scene, there is a halo impact round Monroe’s character throughout some extent within the movie the place she spirals in a search of affection.
In one other scene, one that’s featured in trailers and will turn out to be the movie’s most memorable, Norma Jeane sits damaged and tearful in entrance of a mirror, begging for Marilyn to “come out.” With the digicam spinning across the character, de Armas’ capability to vary the micro-muscles of her face to imitate Monroe’s reveal is astonishing. She goes from deeply somber tears to a radiantly smiling, glammed-up girl. A part of this shift consists of refined modifications in hair and make-up.
The movie is one in every of many who goals to deliver one thing to the dialog of Marilyn Monroe’s life.
Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix
Whereas taking pictures this scene, Kerwin says there have been solely 10 minutes to vary out the wig, apply new lashes, contact up the make-up and slick on lipstick. “It was one of many insanities of the entire shoot… As a result of we actually shot her on the mattress, she scoots up, we shoot a part of that… after which, hair! Wig! Garments!” Kerwin remembers. “Strive gluing lashes on a watch that is filled with tears!”
“Ana simply does this flip that she’s so extremely good at and simply turned and embodied Marilyn. And it was superb to observe,” Kerwin says. “We have been nonetheless off digicam catching our breath. It is unimaginable to observe her try this.”
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