Dakota Johnson stuns as Marilyn Monroe despite casting doubts
Dakota Johnson transforms into Marilyn Monroe in first-look images from Maggie Gyllenhaal's short film Flesh Impact, set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. Gyllenhaal initially doubted Johnson's resemblance to the icon before deciding the myth of Marilyn Monroe mattered more than a lookalike cast.
Key Takeaways
- Johnson plays Marilyn Monroe at 36 in the 17-minute short Flesh Impact, written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
- Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn portrays a fictionalized older version of the Hollywood icon.
- Gyllenhaal first worried Johnson did not look enough like Monroe, then dismissed the concern.
- The film premieres at the Venice Film Festival in September for Monroe's centennial.
- First-look images show Johnson in a peroxide blonde bob with soft Old Hollywood curls.
What is Flesh Impact and why does it matter?
Forget the familiar brunette look. New set photos show Dakota Johnson as a platinum blonde bombshell in Flesh Impact, a short written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The project is not a traditional Marilyn Monroe biopic. It imagines the star beyond platinum hair and red lipstick, blending reality and imagination to examine identity, legacy, and life as an actress.
The 17-minute film was developed with Genesis as a celebratory project for Monroe's 100th birthday. It will premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. For more cultural first looks and big-screen buzz, browse Future Tech & AI Wonders on BlasterPost.
Why did the director doubt Dakota Johnson's casting?
Gyllenhaal has said Dakota was always on her mind while writing. Still, she first worried that Johnson did not look enough like Marilyn Monroe for the part. She later told Vanity Fair that the worry was misplaced.
"Then I thought, 'That's ridiculous. Who cares?'" Gyllenhaal said. "I don't know that anyone even really totally knows what Marilyn looks like because she's been so commodified and made into this myth, and she's very blurry in my mind." The casting choice, she argued, fits a story about reclaiming Monroe from the myth.
How do Johnson and Burstyn share the Marilyn Monroe role?
Johnson portrays Monroe at age 36, the age at which the star died in 1962. Ellen Burstyn plays a fictionalized older version of the blonde bombshell. Together, the dual casting lets Gyllenhaal ask what might have been if Monroe had had decades more to herself and her work.
Yahoo Entertainment noted that Johnson's signature brunette lengths are gone in the first look, replaced by a blonde bob with softly sculpted curls. The style is temporary for the role: she is wearing a wig. Even so, the images mark one of her most striking screen transformations to date.
Gyllenhaal said she has always been fascinated by Monroe and wanted a modern lens that reclaims her story. With Venice ahead, audiences will soon see whether the gamble on Johnson pays off on screen.