PHOTO+VIDEO | New Marilyn Monroe Movie Upsets Viewers With 18+ Scenes: Fact or Fiction?
The new Netflix movie about Marilyn Monroe titled "Blonde" features a graphic scene in which the Hollywood diva is brutally raped by the president John F. Kennedy, which upset some viewers.
They are acting in the film Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Javier Samuel, Caspar Philipson и Julian Nicholson, and was recently released in theaters and is set to become available to watch on Netflix on September 28.
Most of the action in the film is fictional
Although the film portrays some real-life aspects of the late actress' life, most of the plot is actually based on the fictional novel by Joyce Carol Oat since 2000.
The film sparked backlash after it was announced in August that it had been rated NC17, meaning children under 17 cannot watch the film, even under adult supervision.
However, it has now been revealed that the film contains more depictions of sexual assault and violence – including a chilling fictional scene in which Kennedy, played by Phillipson, forces the actress to perform oral sex with him before raping her. Merlin then wakes up in bed with bruises all over his body and goes to the bathroom to throw up.
Vulture described the moment as "incredibly tense, disturbing, extremely awkward and exploitative," while people on Twitter called it "disgusting" and "unnecessary."
"I have nothing against biopics that lean towards fiction, but making up rape scenes to add to a story that is supposed to criticize sexualization is just wrong," wrote one Twitter user.
The director defends the film
"The woman is dead and you use that as an excuse to show her naked half the time and make it practically porn," added another. "The rape scene in the film is not for the sake of art. It's a pure fabrication of things in the life of a dead woman who once said she didn't want people to make fun of her like that," remarked a third.
The film also reportedly features a scene in which film producer Daryl F. Zanuck rapes Merlin.
The director Andrew Dominick previously defended the film to Screen Daily, saying, “It's a tough film. "If the audience doesn't like it, that's their f*cking problem," he said.