“Marilyn Monroe only exists on the screen.” The trailer for Blonde is here, and in less than two minutes, Ana de Armas will make you question everything you think you know about the Hollywood legend. In public, she’s dazzlingly confident, walking the red carpet like someone who has the whole world at her feet. But when the cameras stop rolling, she’s simply Norma Jeane, a young woman starved of the love, happiness and admiration that is so freely heaped onto her Hollywood alter ego. 

In fact, nothing about Andrew Dominik’s upcoming film Blonde, a fictional retelling of Monroe’s story adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’ 2000 novel of the same title, is exactly what it seems. 

“She’s deeply traumatized, and that trauma necessitates a split between a public self and a private self, which is the story of everyone, but with a famous person, that often plays out publicly, in ways that may cause additional trauma,” Dominik tells Queue. “The film’s very much concerned with the relationship with herself and with this other persona, Marilyn, which is both her armor and the thing that is threatening to consume her."

Still, don’t expect a history lesson. (If a documentary approach is what you’re after, check out The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes.) Blonde reimagines Monroe’s life and intimate, personal experiences in a way that interrogates the myths that have long surrounded her.

The trailer gives us a heartbreaking peek at Norma Jeane’s growing frustration with her stage persona. “I’ve played Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe. I can’t face doing another scene with Marilyn Monroe,” she tells one of her suitors (Bobby Cannavale) as Monroe’s iconic rendition of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” plays hauntingly in the background. As in Oates’ novel, the men who marked Monroe’s life are known only by nicknames, like the Ex-Athlete (Cannavale) and the Playwright (Adrien Brody). Also starring are Xavier Samuel, Julianne Nicholson, Lily Fisher, Evan Williams, Toby Huss, David Warshofsky, Caspar Phillipson, Dan Butler, Sara Paxton and Rebecca Wisocky. 

As the first-look photos reveal, de Armas’ physical transformation into Monroe is mind-blowing — but it’s her mesmerizing performance that will keep you glued to your seat come Sept. 28, when Blonde hits Netflix. 

 Check out the full trailer below:

Blonde Main TrailerWatched by all. Seen by none.

Blonde will make its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September and premieres globally on Netflix Sept. 28.