'Blonde' author Joyce Carol Oates has praised the new movie adaptation.

Ana De Armas stars as Norma Jeane Baker/Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik's take on Oates' 2000 novel – which reimagines the life of the tragic Hollywood star – and is impressed with Dominik's film.

Speaking at the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland, Joyce said: "Andrew Dominik is a very brilliant director. I think he succeeded in showing the experience of Norma Jeane Baker from her perspective, rather than see it from the outside, the male gaze looking at a woman. He immersed himself in her perspective."

Oates also praised Ana's portrayal of the Hollywood icon, particularly as she spent several hours transforming her look to resemble Marilyn for the Netflix movie.

The author said: "Transforming into Marilyn always took (Baker) hours. Ana de Armas, the wonderful actress who plays her, I think it took her like four hours of makeup.

"So when you see them on the screen, they don't really exist. It's like a fantastic image, but to make it a livelihood is to endure a good deal of anguish."

De Armas previously revealed that she wore a bald cap to conceal her brunette locks during filming and was moved to tears when she saw her character's wigs for the first time.

The 34-year-old star explained: "(Marilyn) went through different shades of blonde from golden to really platinum, so for these wigs that are beautifully made, you can't have anything dark underneath, so we had to make a bald cap every single day from my forehead to (around) my whole head.

"I think I actually cried the first time I saw (the wigs) on. Probably because I was terrified. But I'm so proud."

The 'Knives Out' actress also described how she left her brain "fried" by spending nine months training with a dialect coach to perfect Marilyn's voice.

Ana said: "It was a big torture, so exhausting. My brain was fried."