Dakota Johnson has undergone a striking transformation to play one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons – and the first glimpse is enough to make you do a double take.
The 36-year-old actress swaps her brunette locks for Marilyn Monroe’s unmistakable platinum blonde curls in Flesh Impact, a new short film written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
In the newly released first-look image, Johnson stares directly into the camera sporting Monroe’s glamorous old Hollywood look, complete with soft pink lipstick, fluttery lashes and the actress’s trademark mole.
The 17-minute project isn’t aiming to retell Monroe’s life in the traditional biopic mould, though.
Instead, Flesh Impact has been described as a ‘love letter’ to the actress, with Johnson portraying Monroe ‘at the height of her fame’ while Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn plays ‘a version of Marilyn the world never had a chance to see.’
According to the official synopsis, the film follows a mysterious elderly woman auditioning for a play in a small New York theatre. As she recounts her acting career, long-held misconceptions about her life begin to unravel, revealing a more intimate version of the Hollywood icon.
Fan reaction was mixed, with some marveling at the transformation. One wrote on X: ‘She somehow even managed to capture her sultry eyes!’
Someone else posted, ‘I had no idea this was Dakota Johnson!’
But others were less convinced. One person wrote: ‘Looks absolutely nothing like her.’
Another agreed, ‘They don’t even have the same facial shape!’
The filmmaker also admitted she briefly questioned whether Johnson physically resembled Monroe before deciding it simply didn’t matter.
‘Then I thought, “That’s ridiculous. Who cares?”’ she told Vanity Fair.
‘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.’
Rather than chasing a perfect impression, Gyllenhaal described the film as ‘a mixture of Marilyn and my fantasy of her’, adding that it’s ultimately about ‘actresses in general and what it’s like to have that strange, very vulnerable and, at the same time, very powerful job.’
The ambitious short also stars The Pitt actress Sepideh Moafi and Peter Sarsgaard, who happens to be Gyllenhaal’s husband.
The film is set to receive its world premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival in September, arriving just months after what would have been Monroe’s 100th birthday. It was created with the blessing of the Marilyn Monroe estate and is presented by automotive brand Genesis.
For Gyllenhaal, the project has been years in the making.
‘I’ve always been fascinated by Marilyn Monroe,’ she said in a statement. ‘With Flesh Impact, we showcase the timeless icon we know and love through a modern lens that reclaims her story.’
Johnson previously worked with Gyllenhaal on the acclaimed psychological drama The Lost Daughter, and this latest collaboration sees the actress taking on one of cinema’s most daunting roles.
She’s far from the first performer to step into Monroe’s famous heels.
Michelle Williams earned widespread praise for My Week with Marilyn, while Ana de Armas generated huge discussion with Netflix’s Blonde.
Whether Johnson’s interpretation joins that list of acclaimed performances remains to be seen.
If the first image is anything to go by, Flesh Impact isn’t interested in simply recreating Monroe, but instead hopes to explore the woman hidden beneath one of Hollywood’s most recognisable faces.
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